This is highly facetious, but it could ring true – can a bat win MVP? The Chicago Cubs need that Anthony Rizzo to show up and he found the right time to do so.
Sometimes a hitter just needs a mental change to bring results. Addison Russell, who had an equally good game and impact, moved his hands down helping him create a better launch angle – the bat change for Rizzo had the same change.
If you were living under a rock, after striking out twice Rizzo decided a change was in order – so he grabbed Matt Szczur’s bat. In Anthony’s third at bat, and after blasting a ball just foul down the right field line, Rizzo launched a ball 401 feet to right-center field. He followed that at bat up with a blistering single to drive in another run, and a bloop over Corey Seager’s leaping glove in his final plate appearance.
After going two for what felt like eternity through the last seven games in the playoffs, that three hit night was a pleasant sight for all.
“I hit well with his bat, so he has hits in it,’’ Rizzo said. “Same size, just different model and different name, and it worked.’’
There are times when a hitter needs a change, any change. Cal Ripken jr. used to change stances and approaches all the time. Those changes gave him a new and fresh approach, but also a different mental attitude.
Baseball is a confidence game, and anything that gives you confidence you go with. To a much lessor degree, I personally was struggling in a baseball tournament, during batting practice I took a Craig Counsell approach and was killing balls. In my first at bat I was down 0-2, and decided to try it in game. The coach yelled at me, “what are you doing!?” I stung a liner down the line score two runs – he told me to keep it up.
Sometimes these small change everything. Whether you are playing little league all the way up to the big leagues on the national stage – a change could breed confidence and confidence is everything.
But changes aren’t everything. Sometimes just being in a particular position a number of times eventually breeds confidence and success.
As much as I want to give credit to Szczur’s bat, I’d more so credit Rizzo becoming familiar and comfortable with playoff baseball. There’s that old thought, it takes 21 days for something to become a habit, well Rizzo is nearing 21 playoff games, and playoff baseball is becoming a familiar habit.
Experience in the postseason cannot go unnoticed, for further proof look to the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw. He has been the world’s best pitcher this decade, but has been a below average pitcher during playoff play. Then he goes out and brilliantly dominates the Cubs in game two, without having confidence in his curve or slider.
I guess what has taken me 500 words to say is, the mental aspect of baseball is the strongest and most delicate tool. A tool that perhaps a small change in approach, a change of bat, or experience in the spot can mean a whole heck of a lot. With so many of these young Cubs getting used to this position, it could be a very exciting ride here on out.
