Kris Bryant, Cubs third baseman
The Cubbies come to town for a three-game series beginningMonday, turning Coors Field intoWrigley FieldWest. You can bet there will be a lot of No. 17 jerseys in the stands— representing Bryant, more than Rockies icon Todd Helton. That’s just the way it is when the Cubs come to LoDo, and now that they’reWorld Series champions for the first time since 1908, you can bet transplanted Chicago fans will be out in full voice, annoying the heck out of die-hard Colorado fans.
Life is good for Bryant, the reigning National League MVP. He got married in January, and Cubs fans actually sent him wedding gifts. His jersey is the top seller in the majors, to which he had the perfect, self-deprecating response: “I bought a lot of my own jerseys.” How talented is Bryant? Last year he became the first player to win the Golden Spikes Award presented to the top collegiate player, the minor-league player of the year, the rookie of the year and MVP honors in four consecutive seasons. To which Bryant joked, “It’s all downhill from there.” He entered Saturday batting .322 with six home runs, 16 RBIs and a .419 on-base percentage. He has sizzled over his last eight games, batting .433 with four home runs.
Bryant received 29-of-30 first-place votes for NLMVP last year, including mine. For the record, I voted Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado second, one of three baseball writers to do so. Bryant earned thatMVP award. He led the NL with an 8.3 WAR, batting .292 with 39 homers, 35 doubles, 102 RBIs and 121 runs scored. He led the NL in runs scored, ranked third in homers, was fourth with a .939 OPS and a .554 slugging percentage, and sixth in RBIs. At age 25, he’s become baseball’s new darling. He’s not as good a defensive third baseman as Arenado, but he plays for a championship team in a major media market and for one of baseball’s most icon franchises. I would not be surprised to see Bryant win another MVP award in 2017. In order for Arenado to garner enough national attention to unseat Bryant, the Rockies have to make the playoffs.