Kris Bryant's Comment About Javy Baez's Unpredictability is Perfect
By Michael Luciano
The Chicago Cubs live off of the infectious energy of superstar infielder Javier Baez, as few players across baseball today have his combination of star power, talent and childlike spirit.
Recently, Baez has been showing off his clutch gene, giving the Cubs a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies with a walk-off single on Tuesday night. After that magical night on the North Side, third baseman Kris Bryant perfectly summed up what playing with Baez is like.
Bryant on Baez: “I don’t even know what’s going on with him. I don’t know what’s going on with him half the time anyway. 'Oh, Javy is pinch hitting? I was like ‘don’t swing at the first pitch.’ ‘He’s like I’m so good. I'm going to get this hit and we're going to go home.'"
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) May 22, 2019
Baez is just in a zone right now. While his 11 home runs in 45 games is pretty par for the course for him, his batting average has been upped to a sparkling .323.
If Baez can become an elite contact hitter on top of being a tremendous slugger, defender and leader, we might have the makings of a superstar for years to come.
JAVIER BAEZ. CUBS WIN.
— Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) May 22, 2019
Clutch walk-off as a pinch-hitter.pic.twitter.com/LAXYGIBxHl
Over the last 1.5 years, El Mago has been one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball. To get that type of production, as well as his vigor and leadership in one package, is exceedingly rare.