The TRAGIC Story of Kris Bryant

by the end of 2016 Chris Bryant was on top of the baseball world in just his first two seasons in the big leagues he managed to win Rookie of the Year Most Valuable Player and help guide the Cubs to their first World Series championship in over 100 years but Flash Forward to present day and he is struggling to perform only of the worst teams in baseball getting booed in front of his home fans and is started to receive de threats on social media this is the story of Chris Bryant the incredible success he found and the injuries that derailed his Hall of Fame career Chris Bryant was born and raised in Las Vegas Nevada playing baseball at Bonanza High School and during this time he received national attention batting 418 with 47 home runs during his four Varsity Seasons good enough for the Toronto Blue Jays to take him in the 18th round of the 2010 draft but he decided to play college ball at the University of San Diego where he only raised his profile as a freshman he had nine homers and knocked in 36 runs in just 53 games to go along with a 366 average and over 1,000 Ops helping him become a freshman All-American and as a sophomore he continued to find success with similar numbers it wasn't until his third year before he truly broke out as a junior he hadit a homer on average of every other game with 31 and 62 and he did so with an Ops hovering above, 1300 but let's take a look back at his home runs because his 31 figure became the most in college baseball after they scill back the metal bats they were allowed to use but projections were made stating he would have hit over 50 with the old bats the all-time college record is only 48 because of this he shot his name into top five pick territory and after the Astros selected Mar Capel first overall the Cubs who most assumed were taking a pitcher took Bryant with the second pick and signed him to a $6.7 million bonus after being drafted in June of 2013 Bryant began his minor league career in rookie ball that made his way to low a and then High a playing in total of 36 games with nine homers and almost 1100 Ops during this time not a bad first showing in the professional game and in his second season he had one of the most powerful minor league campaigns in baseball history across both able a and AAA Bryant slugged 43 home runs and managed to top both 100 runs scored and 100 RBIs while hitting over 300 but he never got the call of the big leagues even though it was clear he was ready and he would have been a valuable asset to the major league roster why you may ask well the Cubs weren't in a position to compete never once having a 500 or above record for the entire season and if they did bring him up it meant his service time will kick off and he become a free agent after the 2020 season in other words general manager Theo Epstein and the Cubs were manipulating him this became even more apparent as Brian didn't make the roster out of spring training in 2015 despite hitting over 400 with nine homers and 40 at bats including oneof Ace Felix Hernandez who was still in his prime coming off a season with a 214 erra allowing just6 home runs per nine innings Epstein tried to explain his reason why stating we enter camp with a presumptive move of sending him to triaa and it is always a presumptive move for us with young players who haven't played in the big leagues yet to put this another way you get an extra year of service Time by bringing up a player after the 12th day of the MLB season and funny enough Brian was called up on the 13th day but moving on Brian's MLB debut was the Talk of the Town in Chicago and part of the reason why it was from a billboard created by aidas outside Wrigley stating worth the wait and as each day went by in Chicago with him and the miners the anticipation was only growing and after being called up in mid April he made his mark on the league immediately taking home rookie the Month in May posting seven homers 20 runs scored and 22 RBIs to along with an Ops almost reaching 900 and he would continue this great run of form through the rest of the first half finishing with 12 homers and an 849 Ops helping him to the All-Star Game in just his first season and in the game he managed to draw a walk against Delan bantis who let me remind you used to be a pretty scary guy especially in 2015 when he had an erra of just 1.5 in total Bryan's first half effort helped the Cubs to a respectable 47 and 40 record but that was only fifth best in the National League meaning he needed to step it up a notch and following a disastrous July where he hit under 200 with a 639 Ops he became one of the League's best hitters with seven homers and 20 RBIs to go along with a 330 average and over 1,000 Ops in August helping the Cubs to a 19-9 record during this time firmly putting them on track for the playoffs overall in the postseason while the Cubs did make it to the NLCS before getting knocked out Bryant wasn't at his best with just a 174 average and 684 Ops in his nine games but regardless it was an incredible first season for him in MLB after finally getting his chance Midway through April he managed to feature in his first All-Star game and win the coveted Rookie of the Year award all the while helping bring the Cubs back into the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade he also became one of just four rookies since the start of the Wild Card era in 1995 to post at least 25 home runs 90 RBIs and a 130 Ops plus with the other guys on the list all becoming future MVP recipients and for Bryant they were great numbers to build upon in 2016 the Cubs had their eyes set on the World Series out of spring training and thankfully their newest Star did not go into a sophomore slump but instead beat out practically all of his previous season's totals with 34 more runs scored 13 more home runs three more RBIs and an improvement in every number of his slash line he also became one of just four players in 2016 to post at least 30 homers 100 runs scored and 100 runs batted in joining Exclusive Company in Nolan Aeron Robinson Canó And mooki Betts all in all his efforts help the Cubs take home the best record in the National League at 103 wins 58 losses and one tie eight and a half games up over the second place finishers the Washington Nationals and in the playoffs Brian continued his Stellar run of form in game four of the nlds against the San Francisco Giants Brian was hitless entering his ninth inning at bat against Derek law a relever who in 2016 had just a 213 erra and 62 appearances it was no easy match up for bran and at this point down by three runs the series looked destined for a win or take all game five but on the fourth pitch of the at bat he laced a single into left field he was Then followed up by Anthony Rizzo who worked a walk on six pitches setting up Ben zist Wilson conteras and the rest of the Cubs lineup in the top of the nin they erased the 3% win probability they were given at the start of the inning and after a scoreless bottom half by a RIS Chapman the Cubs punch their ticket to the championship series to face the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 the Dodgers won their fourth consecutive division Crown achieving this from two of the best rookies in the game on the offensive side Cory Seager won Rookie of the Year hitting over 300 with 26 home runs and on the pitching side Kent MAA finished third in Rookie of the Year voting with a 348 ER in 32 starts these two were the perfect pair for their veteran players like Clayton Kershaw Adrien Gonzalez and Kenley jansson and together they look like a dangerous group capable of beating anyone in the playoffs but the Cubs had other ideas in their six game series their pitching was dominant only allowing 2.8 runs per game and their offense continued to prove why they rank top three in baseball by scoring 31 runs in this series we also saw Brian stay hot scoring and knocking in three runs each to go along with a 304 average and 842 Ops helping the Cubs take the series four games to two and set them on their way to the World Series giving them the chance to break their 108-year Championship drought but on the other hand Cleveland was looking for their first ring in 68 years one of these teams would be ending their streak and it looked to be Cleveland as they took an early 3 to1 Series lead holding the clbs bats to just seven runs in the first four games and Bryant was the main reason why the team struggled offensively as he had just one hit in his 17 trips to the plate it was obvious the key for the Cubs to get back into the series was by getting their star third basem back on track but sometimes these things happen the World Series is the biggest stage in the world and often times where great players crumble however in game five he came alive managing to hit the game tying home run off Trevor Bower in the bottom of the fifth inning helping the CBS come back and take the game by a narrow score line of 3 to2 then in game six he once again tapped into his power hitting a solo home runoff Josh Tomlin for the game's opening run helping the Cubs win comfortably 9 to3 and set the stage for game seven in Cleveland and somehow the game was able to live up to expectations with multiple lead changes multiple clutch home runs a rain delay Extra Innings and in the and who else but Chris Bryant was able to put the icing on the cake retiring Michael Martinez for the final out of the game it was truly a storybook first three years in the Cubs Organization for Bryan in year one he set the minor leagues on fire with his impressive power display across ablea and triaa in his second season he took a rookie of the year finding himself already around the game's top players in terms of his power output and in year three he stepped it up another notch improving in all of his previous season's totals in route to winning the Hank Aaron and MVP award as well as a most desirable piece of silverware in all of baseball and entering just his age 25 season in 2017 there was great reason to believe he was only going to get better but from 2017 to 2019 he only received MVP votes once finishing seventh in 2017 and that's not to say he wasn't effective during this time he ranked 17th in all of baseball and Ops Plus at 133 however he had trouble matching his Stellar's seconde display and then in 2020 although his numbers took a deep dive it's best not to look too much into it after all it was just a 34 game stretch and even in his MVP Seas and he finished the year with a 221 average and 671 Ops in his final 26 games and just a year later in his contract year he was back to his best despite so much change in his season playing Third Base first base two innings at shortstop as well as all three Outfield positions and perhaps the biggest change of all at the deadline he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants where he' finish off the season with respectable numbers at 32 doubles 25 homers and a 124 Ops plus making him an intriguing name in the free agent Market especially after he displayed versatility in the field playing practically everywhere and because of this a Colorado Rockies who just finished the 2021 season with a 74 and 88 record Inked Bryant to a massive 8-year $172 million contract this deal was a great reward for Bryant who had worked his way to becoming one of the game's best third baseman and for the Rockies this signing was in a way a promise to the fans that better days were on the way but unfortunately for both sides the first three years of this contract have been as far away from ideal as possible in his first season and his new three Reds Brian performed well when he was on the field hitting over 300 and had a solid Ops plus of 128 that went in line with his career Norm but the key word here is when because a back injury kept him out from April 29th to May 20th then again just a few days later from May 23rd till June 27th and to cap things off plantar fasciitis kept him out for the final 59 games of the season this was a major problem for Bryant because it wasn't an impact injury which would eventually heal it was arthritis in his back as well as plantar fasciitis that worsened as he played but he took this setback as fuel to get better and took his head start on the offseason to recover and return in 2023 with the monster season most were anticipating when he signed in The Hitter friendly atmosphere in Colorado and following a healthy spring he looked to put his underwhelming 2022 season behind him but his plantar fasciitis acted up once again keeping him out the majority of June and to make matters worse he missed a month and a half of action due to a broken left index finger in his at bat vers Johnny quo in mid July in the end Bryant played a total of just 80 games but unlike the previous year where he put posted great numbers in his limited playing time 2023 was the worst season of his career he hit 233 with a 680 Ops and hit a homer on average of every 33.5 plate appearances for reference when he's at his best he typically hits one on every 18 appearances like in 2016 and because of his offensive woes Brian posted the worst war Mark of his career at negative-1 once again injuries were the main contributor towards his career worst year and his Mega contract didn't make it easy for him in the offseason as he continued to get berad with comments from the media and fans regarding his poor performances he even mentioned how he was receiving death threats but he kept moving didn't let the haters get to him and continued with the same mindset that working hard would get himself out of this Rut after all he was still the same guy who accepted the 2016 MVP award while working out at a batting cage all he needed to do was feel 100% for just one season to prove that he's still capable of being one of the game's best offensive players and to start the 2024 season he was ready to go he got a good spring training in where he worked on lifting the ball more in hopes of reigniting the power outputs he used to display play but unfortunately 2024 has been nothing but the same for Bryan to start the year he went hitless in his first 22 plate appearances but in the days following he showed flashes of his former self with multi-hit games on April 3rd and April 12th and in his first two games in Toronto he had three hits in his first eight trips to the plate but in the bottom of the first Inning on April 13th Bryant made this twisting turning catch somehow managing to hold on to the ball as he went into the fence awkwardly he would end up staying in the game until the fourth inning before being removed and placed on the injured list once again again due to him re-aggravating his back injury and he hasn't appeared in an MLB game since but we have gotten glimpses of his rehab process when he stated my discs in my back are pretty much dried up there are a couple of discs that don't function like they did 10 years ago my fcet joints are pretty severely arthritic and a lot of bone spurs that's part of just getting older that's the way the doctor explained it to me and I just have to find a way to manage it as best I can that is extremely tough news to receive at just 32 years old but he's still working hard to become a contributor in this Rockies offense and slated to make his return to the big league roster shortly however after numerous attempts to regain his former glory it's getting harder and harder to believe he will after all these injuries which is sad because Bryant was once one of the game's best players he won Rookie of the Year MVP and the World Series in just his first two MLB seasons and he continued to find himself among the game's best players for the duration of his stay in Chicago and while he will finish his career with the game's most prestigious accolades as well as money to set up his family's future Generations one canot help a one what he may have been able to accomplish if it weren't for those pesky injuries that took him off course to Cooper town [Music]

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Length: 13min 39sec (819 seconds)

Published: Sun May 26 2024