Chicago Cubs: Bryant muscled his way to first N.L. MVP award
The Chicago Cubs have plenty of muscle on their roster, giving their skipper a power advantage. Two of those heavy hitters were National League MVP finalists with one claiming the title.
Kris Bryant
3B, Chicago Cubs
The year of the Chicago Cubs featured more than just a World Series title. Although, that sits at the top of the list of what they accomplished as a team. A goal that was set by skipper Joe Maddon was crossed off the list in his second year.
Like Maddon, a handful of players on that roster made their Cubs debut in 2015. Names such as Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Carl Edwards Jr., and Kris Bryant came up to the big league roster.
It all started when Bryant was sent to Triple-A Iowa ahead of the 2015 campaign. A decision made by the front office in order to gain some extra control time. However, it didn’t set well with Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras.
Either way, Bryant made his debut in April and despite a slow start, ended the campaign as Rookie of the Year. Swatting 26 homers and driving in 99, Bryant put the league on notice that he was here to stay.
And he continued to put up impressive numbers in his second year as a big league player. Now, Kris has been on one heck of a journey.
Phenom in the Making
Take a look at Bryant’s previous three years. In 2013 he was awarded the Golden Spides Award and Dick Howser Trophy. Which is awarded to the best amateur player in the country and overall college player as well.
In 2014 he was named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year. As mentioned earlier, he wins Rookie of the Year, raising the bar, personally. He also earned himself another first by winning the Hank Aaron award which is issued to the best hitter in the league.
Now he surpassed Bryce Harper and Anthony Rizzo for N.L. MVP on top of winning a World Series later on.
Thankfully, Rizzo and Bryant are on the same team. Kris absolutely killed it this year, falling one homer shy of 40 but managed to drive in over 100 RBI. Let’s not forget he was only a few points from having an impressive .300 batting average while the rest of his line sat at .385/.554/.939.
A two-time All-Star who took former White Sox pitcher, Chris Sale deep in his return to San Diego and added a few postseason dingers later on in October.
The scary thing about Kris Bryant is that he’s still young. All these goals were accomplished by someone who will turn 25-years-old on April 17th. One final note is that he married long-time girlfriend, Jessica Delp following the World Series win.
So not only was it the year of the Chicago Cubs, it just so happened to be the year of Kris Bryant who ended up winning two rings. Let’s see if he can make it three or more in the future.
Championship rings, that is.
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