Totally Redeeming Himself
October 22nd of 2016 Chicago Cubs fans were waking to the news that Kyle Schwarber was cleared to hit in the World Series. We all fell in love with thoughts of monstrous moonshot home runs as the Cubs played in their first Series since 1945. Schwarber made his impact felt as he hit .412 with a .500 OBP and had the key hit that started the Cubs 10th inning.
As devastating as the early injury was, Schwarber picked his head up and put himself to work harder than he ever has before. Rigorous physical therapy workouts which would exhaust someone in good physical shape was Kyle’s daily routine with a bum knee. He would also devour himself in game film in hopes of learning pitcher tendencies so that he could share it with teammates. He stepped into the GM’s office to watch him on potential draft picks, giving Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer insight on players in the upcoming draft. All of this happened in route to placing his name in the history books with his heroic World Series play.
Fast-forward to 2017 and it was quite a different story. After being given the leadoff job, due to a departing Decter Fowler, Kyle struggled to the tune of a .190 AVG. His struggles would continue after he was removed from leadoff, and was eventually sent down to Iowa to work things out. There were thoughts within the organization that Kyle held his hands too close to his body, and it was causing him to be slow to the ball. He also had the enormous weight of being named the second coming of Babe Ruth to live with – and he attempted to not disappoint.
But his season spiraled downward, even though there were decent home run totals.
The ugliest part of this wasn’t Kyle’s struggles, his increasingly frustrating strikeouts, or weak fly or ground balls within the infield. It was how fast and how hard the fans turned on him. In November of 2016 he was a hero, in May of 2017 he was a bum. Just seven months time and they started calling him a bust, calling for him to be traded, citing he could only be a DH in the league. Even after Kyle was sent down and returned, fans cried that he didn’t spend enough time in Iowa, and they couldn’t have fixed all that was wrong in 11 games.
But Kyle didn’t allow the boos or ridicule get to him. He went down to Iowa with a plan, and came back up a better version of himself – one closer to what we had all expected from him. The Cubs and Joe Maddon became smarter with his exposure as well, putting him in better positions to succeed. He was getting starts when the matchup appeared to be in his favor. He was no longer hitting leadoff, but fell back into more familiar spots. His bat began to turn around.
Come August 17th he rose his average up over .200 for the first time since May 9th. For a man that at one point was hitting a mere .162, this was a huge accomplishment. While he began to win some fans back, there was still a large group that was done with the “Kyle Schwarber experiment.”
Along the way Kyle never stopped producing. He and Anthony Rizzo became the first pair of Cubs lefties to have 30 home run seasons together. But his homers weren’t the only story. Kyle improved his average by 49 points since that low mark in June, and with a much improved bat in the middle of the lineup, he took pressure off of the other hitters.
In fact, Kyle has had his three best months since he was sent down in June, and it is not a coincidence that the Cubs have followed suit. Since his return, the team is 14 games over .500, and have played .609 ball with this improved Kyle at the plate. I contest, his bat has also allowed for the Cubs offensive resurgence and a higher winning percentage. In September alone, Kyle helped the team to a 12-1 record in games which he got at least three at bats.
A lot of fans are clamoring for Jon Jay and Albert Armora to get more playing time in the outfield, or even shifting Ben Zobrist or Kris Bryant to left keeping Schwarber out. But Kyle certainly brings the ability to wreak damage on another team’s pitcher than either Jay or Almora. But neither of them have performed anywhere near the level Kyle has performed at in the playoffs.
I would take Schwarber’s bat (.283/.338/.600 with 6 HR in September) over having Jay in the lineup playing left. His power adds the ability to change a game with any single pitch, which could prove important against the Washington Nationals formidable staff.
Don’t allow yourself to be one of the “I told you so’s.”
I have NEVER given up on the Schwarbs. I know its in him.