Something to strive for
Now champs, stacked Cubs aim for World Series repeat
Somewhere along the line, at some point on the way to a historic World Series title, Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs figured out how much they enjoyed winning together at the big league level.
They tasted the champagne, and decided they wanted to do it again.
“Getting a lot of questions about how do you not be complacent,” Bryant said, “and that’s why, because it was so much fun that you want to go through it again, and that’s the only answer I’ll ever be able to give, because both individually and as a team, that success is something that you strive for and you want every year you play this game.
“We had a short off-season, but that doesn’t mean anything to us because what we got to experience was something that not many people get a chance to and it’s very addictive, that winning.”
No major league team has won consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000, but the Cubs begin the year in an enviable position after winning it all in November for the first time since 1908.
Bryant, the reigning NL MVP, leads one of the majors’ most potent lineups.
The rotation includes 19game winner Jon Lester, former Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta and ERA king Kyle Hendricks, coming off a breakout year. With Javier Baez and some of their top prospects in the minors, they are well-equipped to adjust should they lose a position player to injury.
While manager Joe Maddon talked about staying uncomfortable this spring, it sounded as if his players still had the same hunger they had last year.
“We want to be the best in the game. I think that we are the best in the game as of right now, just looking at the clubhouse,” shortstop Addison Russell said. “But that’s just my opinion. We’re going to have to get out there and see who’s standing last, and I think where we’re headed, the type of game plan that we have coming up toward this year, I think that we’re taking the right steps.”