The Chicago Cubs have Kris Bryant under team control through 2021, which is a good amount of time. But they would like to lock up their cornerstone third baseman for even longer. The question is whether Bryant’s side is open to such discussions. The early indications are that the answer is no.
Fan Rag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the Cubs made a contract offer to Bryant, but his representatives did not counter. That appears to mean they are not interested in engaging in long-term extension talks.
This does not mean that Bryant won’t sign with the Cubs long-term, it just likely means that he is in no hurry to sacrifice some free agent years for the sake of financial security.
Some players sign long-term deals early because that locks them into big-money guaranteed contracts. They get some security in case they get injured or their play declines, while the team gets a few more years out of the player when they otherwise could leave as free agents, typically at a slightly discounted rate.
Bryant’s agent is Scott Boras, who is notorious for seeking megadeals for his players. So it’s no surprise they wouldn’t be rushing to sign a long-term deal for a 25-year-old who is coming off an MVP season. It also doesn’t help that the there still might be some bitterness from Bryant’s side towards the Cubs for the way they handled him two years ago.
Kris Bryant has a hilarious explanation for why he doesn’t do bat flips as a player.
Player celebrations has become a divisive issue recently, especially with some Latin players such as Yasiel Puig in the league and doing well because it presents a culture clash. Many American players don’t do it because they’re taught it’s a sign of disrespect to pitchers and the game in general. Other countries such as Korea and Cuba like their players to celebrate with bat flips because it makes the game more fun.
Here’s why Bryant says he doesn’t do it.
“If it’s halfway up the video board, that’s it, that’s enough of a disgrace for the pitcher that you don’t need to add anything to it,” Bryant told 670 The Score’s Dan Bernstein and Jason Goff during an interview on Tuesday. “You crushed a home run, you felt good about it. He felt bad about it. And it’s good.”
“If you’re watching a home run for a little bit, I don’t know if that’s necessarily showing up the other team, but certain guys play that way and certain pitchers are going to be upset seeing that,” Bryant said. “But I think if you add more of that fun to the game, let guys be themselves — I’ll never do it, I’ll be the same boring Kris that I’ve always been — but if guys are going to do that, I think sometimes we’re a little too sensitive with certain things.
“I’ll never do it because I don’t want to be the guy that thinks it’s gone and it doesn’t go out. Because once you’re that guy, you’re always that guy.”
So if Bryant is quiet and humble and boring, when does he actually talk trash? Only in a few situations.
Kris Bryant says the only trash talking he does is to his wife and brother in board games and cards.
Purists have to love those comments from the Chicago Cubs slugger. Not only is Bryant a brilliant young player, but he’s also quite humble. The only disappointment from him is that despite having 67 home runs in his brief career, Bryant says he doesn’t have much interest in participating in the Home Run Derby. That’s OK, because he shows his power off enough to fans in games that matter as is.
The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 and until now, they had not played in the World Series since 1945. But that all changed with this year’s team.
The 2016 Cubs were a powerhouse in the regular season, posting 103 wins — their most since 1910. Though the team’s fans were so used to failure and the team not coming through, this year’s bunch was different.
Just when it looked like the San Francisco Giants had turned the momentum on them, they rallied for four runs in the ninth to win the NLDS in Game 4. And when they were down 2-1 in the NLCS to the Dodgers, they rallied to win three in a row. Everything about the team was different, and franchise cornerstone Kris Bryant explained why that was the case.
“We’re too young. We don’t care about it. We don’t look into it,” Bryant said after the Game 6 clinching win during an interview with FS1’s Ken Rosenthal. “This is a new team. This is a completely different time of our lives. We’re really enjoying it. We’re just getting started.”
Bryant was oozing with happiness after the Game 6-clinching win.
“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” he said.
That’s exactly what it takes to break a curse like the Cubs have endured. You need a bunch of new blood, new players who are so young they don’t even comprehend how much the fan base has suffered. Things like the Billy Goat or Steve Bartman don’t matter to them because they didn’t really live through those things.
And Bryant, who led the team with 39 home runs during the regular season, deserves as much credit as anyone on the team for turning things around on the North Side. From getting key hits against the Giants to spark rallies to delivering vs. the Dodgers, Bryant has been a postseason monster.
During Monday’s game between the Cubs and Reds, Kris Bryant put on a show for those at Great American Ballpark. Not surprisingly, the 24-year-old will try to keep the mojo from his historic performance going.
Bryant launched three home runs in Chicago’s 11-8 victory over Cincinnati, becoming the youngest in franchise history to do so. Here’s video of all three.
That in itself is pretty impressive. However, that wasn’t the extent of Bryant’s day. He also added two doubles to become the first player since 1900 to record three home runs and two doubles in a single game.
Monday is a day Bryant surely won’t soon forget and, if he has it his way, he’ll have a constant reminder for the near future. Bryant has decided to keep wearing the pants from that game as long as possible, despite the fact they’re ripped.
“I’m going to wear those until they’re done,” Bryant said, via the Chicago Tribune. “I told the equipment managers ‘don’t touch them.'”
No telling how long it will take till Bryant’s pants are “done” but as long as he continues to swing a hot bat, we can expect to see him in those ripped pants. Beginning Tuesday, the Cubs have six more road games before returning to Wrigley Field. The rip may get larger and they will probably start to smell soon, but I don’t think anyone will complain as long as the results are good.
With spring training rapidly approaching, there isn’t much vacation time left for Major League Baseball players. During one of his last remaining days, a member of the Cubs got up close and personal with a few predators.
On Thursday, Kris Bryant shared some video footage he took while underwater with sharks swimming around the cage he was in.
This is something that has been on my bucket list for a little while now and watching this confirms that I need to make it happen sooner rather than later.
The full squad for the Cubs is due to report for spring training on February. At that point, Bryant will knock the rust off and begin working towards building on a impressive first full season in the majors. Bryant took home the Rookie of the Year Award, earned a spot on the National League all-star team, and helped the Cubs make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. During the regular season, Bryant hit .275 with 26 home runs, 31 doubles, 99 runs batted in, and 13 stolen bases.
2015 was a big year for Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant.
The former No. 2 pick in the MLB draft got his call-up by the club and made his debut this year, and then he went on to win Rookie of the Year. A few months after winning his award, Bryant made an even bigger move by getting engaged.
Bryant proposed to longtime girlfriend Jessica Delp, who was also overjoyed:
Only took me 8 years, but I can't wait to marry my best friend! Perfect way to end an unforgettable year! pic.twitter.com/S9QTLUPN9k
Delp and Bryant are high school sweethearts who have been together since their sophomore year at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas. While Bryant starred in baseball, Delp played basketball and softball.
What makes them so well-suited for each other? Delp recently joked that she knew Bryant “in his awkward stage” and has seen him grow into an emerging superstar.
Maybe 2016 will be an even bigger year for the third baseman now that he is engaged.
Kris Bryant is a budding MLB superstar with model looks, so it’s natural to wonder how he’s not out there playing the field instead of being committed to just one girl. That very question was asked to his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Delp, during a radio interview, and she gave a great answer.
“How do you operate knowing that this guy looks this way? I’d have to break up with him because he’s too good looking,” Mad Dog Sports Radio host Evan Cohen said to Delp during an in-studio interview with the Chicago Cubs third baseman Thursday.
“Well we’ve been dating since high school, so I’ve seen him in his awkward stages,” Delp responded with a laugh, saying she was kidding.
Cohen and Mike Babchik were loving the ribbing from Delp and even doubted that Bryant ever had a period of being awkward looking growing up.
If you had any doubts about their relationship, just know that Delp and Bryant seem to be attached at the hip. They were together for the interview and have been together for much more over the offseason. Delp was a multi-sport athlete in high school, and the two have been dating since they were high school sophomores. Given that piece of information, it’s easier to understand how Delp has seen Bryant grow up and evolve. We wrote more on their relationship in this profile about them in April.
As a frontrunner for the NL Rookie of the Year Award and one of the biggest reasons why the team is in the midst of its first winning season since 2009, Cubs phenom third baseman Kris Bryant is one of the hottest commodities in the game today. Just don’t expect to recognize him out on the street. Because apparently not even the City of Chicago can do that.
Bryant recently pranked some unsuspecting Lyft passengers in the Windy City by going undercover as their driver. And it was gold, Jerry! Gold!
Classic. And what an unflinching commitment to character too. Bryant even plays it cool as the passengers shoot the breeze with him about the surprising success of the Cubs and their new stud third baseman, who curiously enough is not featured on any of the posters outside of Wrigley Field. And man, that one-liner:
“I play baseball. I’m pretty good.” -Kris Bryant
Yeah, that definitely should have been my senior quote.
And just when you would think that 24 home runs and 93 RBIs as a rookie would be enough to get a guy some local recognition. Go figure.
Kris Bryant has the ability to hit a baseball a long way and he did just that on Sunday afternoon.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cubs’ rookie turned on a 95 mph fastball from Rubby De La Rosa and launched it further than any Major League Baseball home run this season, according to MLB’s Statcast.
It took a matter of seconds for the ball to leave the yard and bang off of the scoreboard in left field. Statcast projected the distance of the prodigious blast at 495 ft with an exit velocity of 111.5 mph, both of which are pretty ridiculous.
From his vantage point in the dugout, Cubs manager Joe Maddon thought the home run traveled further than the estimate assigned to it.
“I thought when he hit it that might be the longest home run all year, and there it was. I think 495 (feet) is a misconception, Maddon said via MLB.com. It has to be farther than that. That thing was absolutely annihilated.”
Cubs fans had to wait a few days at the start of the season to see the team’s prized prospect in the majors, but he has been advertised and well worth the wait. Bryant now has 23 home runs and leads the club with 86 RBIs.
Third baseman Kris Bryant is the future of the Chicago Cubs, and now he’s making sure to take care of his own future as well.
The 23-year-old phenom is officially giving up head-first slides after a concussion scare during Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Bryant collided with shortstop Jean Segura on a hard headfirst slide into second base and was removed from the game for precautionary reasons. The University of San Diego product fortunately passed concussion protocols and was cleared to play the very next day. But the incident was more than enough to scare him straight.
“I only have one head,” Bryant told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers in an interview Monday. “I only have one life so there’s nothing really to joke about. I’ve always slid head first but I’ve made some pretty good strides in sliding feet first. Sometimes it’s hard to think on the run.
“It’s a crazy game, things happen. You always prefer feetfirst sliding,” Bryant continued. “There’s more important things than being safe (at the base).”
Bryant’s “big picture” perspective is commendable. Headfirst slides are already dangerous and unnecessary in certain situations. Just look at guys like Bryce Harper, Josh Hamilton, and Dee Gordon, who broke thumbs recklessly sliding headfirst into first base (not to mention that it slows you down!!!). And do you remember this grotesque dislocation from Mike Napoli? But when a baserunner is putting his noggin at risk on a slide, it becomes a whole ‘nother animal altogether.
Instincts often take over in high-adrenaline situations like a close play at the bag. But if a player can help it, especially in baseball where head injuries are much more preventable than in a sport like football, it can pay huge dividends in terms of long-term health.
With 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .790 OPS in 95 games this season, Bryant’s future is too bright both on and off the diamond for him not to take proper care. I’m sure Cubs fans will gladly trade a couple of outs here and there on the basepaths for 15 years of Bryant launching 450-foot moonshots into the left field bleachers.
