November 5, 2016: The Mighty Schwarbino

As I continue to gather my thoughts around this Cubs World Series title, I think of the players that made this happen.  Throughout the 114 wins it took to bring home the trophy, it was truly, truly a team effort.  As we got into the postseason, that played out as well.  Many players contributed to this title run; that’s the way it has to be.  There were some that stood out.  Of course, the starting pitching was fantastic, Chapman out of the pen, Bryzzo, and the MVP Zobrist.  I could go on, but I wanted to get to one guy specifically.  I wish I could give him a big bear hug.

It’s the Mighty Schwarbino I’m talking about, or Kyle Schwarber as you may know him.  You may be able to say this about a couple guys, but honestly, would we have won the World Series without him?  I don’t think so.

This was my initial fear when he went down at the beginning of the season.  I felt like our depth would allow us to still have a good regular season, but that his absence would be felt in the postseason.  Based on his performance in last year’s playoffs, we would miss his bat when it mattered most.  Thankfully, we were able to get through the 1st two rounds without it.  Thankfully, he was able to return for the final series of the year.

It’s a most unique scenario.  Here’s a guy who basically hadn’t played all year; his last meaningful ABs were in LAST year’s postseason.  He worked his ass off during rehab, and then, days before the World Series began, he got the OK to bat & run the bases.  It was something that nobody thought could or would happen.  Even Theo, who got the phone call from Kyle, saying he had clearance.  He was immediately assigned to a couple games in Arizona.  He missed the NLCS clincher to be there, trying to prove he was OK to play; trying to be named to that World Series roster.  He did, and he was.

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So Schwarber immediately made his presence felt, taking Kluber off the wall, drawing a big walk off Miller in Game 1.  In Game 2, he drove in 2 big runs as the rest of the Cubs offense struggled a bit.  Going back to Wrigley, and all the pressure, the Cubs struggled a bit in Games 3 & 4.  I think another reason for that was because Schwarby wasn’t in the lineup.  Thankfully, the bats woke up in Game 5 and stayed hot the rest of the series, including the addition of Kyle in the final 2 games.  Say what you want about Maddon, and I will too some day, but his decision to bat Schwarber in the 2 spot was one of the best moves of the series.

Of course, he led off the historic 10th inning with a base hit.  But before that… this guy was hustling out infield singles with one leg.  He was trying to leg out a double, sliding hard into 2nd base, with one leg!  I love this guy.  His heart matches his talent; that’s HUGE… that’s a HUGE quality of this entire Cubs team.  Living in a city where our injured heroes stand on the sidelines, refusing to do everything they can to help their team win, like Cutler in the NFC Championship game, and Rose… pick a year, it’s nice to see somebody who throws caution to the wind.  Yes, I know it’s baseball, the least physical sport of the 3, but still.  Cutler had to just manage the game.  Rose was medically cleared!  Schwarber becomes an instant hero in my book because of this.  This entire Cubs team is already and will forever be legendary, but Kyle… he is one of the biggest.  I didn’t have a problem with Zobrist getting the MVP; I would have not had one problem with Kyle getting it either.

His legend will grow from here.  Where will he play next year?  We’ll figure that out.  Is he best suited as a DH?  Maybe, and if so, would the Cubs trade him for the betterment of Kyle’s career?  Maybe, just because there is nothing but love for Kyle.  The Cubs want the best for him.  Hopefully, that will be in one of the corner outfield spots in Wrigley, or who knows, maybe backing up Rizzo at 1B too, or throwing back on the catcher’s gear at some point.  Either way, there is no arguing his bat, and his postseason prowess.  The guy is a Chicago legend already; it can and will only grow from here.  He’s just one of the many guys I want to tell “Thank You!”  Maybe one day I will get to do so in person…  Still living on Cubs Cloud 9….