Cubs see Alex Bregman being himself, rather than his ample playoff experience, as difference-maker in October
Alex Bregman has played in a lot of playoff games.
Like a lot.
In fact, he’s ninth all time, having appeared in 102 of them.
The two-time World Series champion would obviously like to add a third ring to his fingers this year, his first after signing a $175 million free-agent deal with the Cubs last offseason.
He didn’t get that contract because of his postseason experience, rather because he’s a really good baseball player regardless of the month, and he’s shown it in the second half of this season; he brought a 1.029 OPS in his previous 55 games into Monday, all while playing Gold Glove type defense at third base.
The Cubs don’t expect Bregman to start doing anything differently once the calendar flips to October. And that’s exactly what they’ll need in order to keep their best-in-baseball lineup humming and give themselves a chance at a deep postseason run.
“Alex is going to keep being Alex and just be relentless and try to beat you,” manager Craig Counsell said Monday. “He’s just going to keep doing it, no matter what’s going on. That’s what he’s great at. That just leads to success, it just does.
“Sometimes, we make a lot of experience at this time of year. And it’s important, but it’s not mandatory. I can list off tons of examples of guys who have had unbelievable postseasons without experience.
“But Alex is just who he is. ‘I’m going to beat you.’ That’s just who he is. That’s how he wakes up. If he sleeps, that’s how he goes to sleep. I’m not sure that he sleeps. But that’s who he is.”
Of course, taking the eighth most at-bats, scoring the sixth most runs and hitting the seventh most homers in postseason history has to be good for something, right?
Even if it just means that you’ve been a good player on a successful team, Bregman — lauded all season long for aiding teammates with off-field conversations — figures to be able to help his team when the lights get their brightest.
“Alex has performed on the biggest stage over his career, time and time again. His experience there benefits all of us,” lefty pitcher Matthew Boyd said. “And he’s just an overall great hitter, and he continues to get better.
“It’s a guy you’re super grateful to have on your team. The way he can attack and prepare just makes us all better.”
Playoff preview?
With the NL wild-card race still capable of turning out a number of different ways, this week’s series between the Cubs and Braves is a potential preview of a first-round postseason matchup.
Regardless of whether the two clash in October, though, it’s a meeting of two of the league’s top contending teams as each tries to tune up for lengthy playoff runs, the type of testing the Cubs need as they look to lock down a wild-card spot over the regular season’s final couple weeks.
“There’s a benefit to be playing good times at this time of year,” Boyd said. “It prepares you for what is ahead. That’s been the case with us. We’ve got good competition.”
Wheels Kelly
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly is his team’s second slowest player, so says his 25.8-feet-per-second sprint speed measured by Statcast.
But no one told him that as he ran his way to a couple Cubs runs in the second inning Monday.
With the bases loaded, Kelly beat out what might have been an inning-ending double-play ball, allowing a run to score and keeping the inning alive for Pete Crow-Armstrong, who doubled into the right-field corner, Kelly scoring all the way from first base.