John Mallee

by Mark Gonzales
Chicago Tribune

For all the accolades Kris Bryant has received in his amateur and minor-league career, the Cubs rookie slugger points to one of his professional failures as a turning point.

“July was one of my worst months as a baseball player,” Bryant said. “Looking back on it, it’s the best thing to happen to me this year.”

Since batting .168 in July as his batting average dropped to .244 on Aug. 1, Bryant hasn’t let up, helping carry the Cubs to the National League playoffs.

Bryant, 23, spent 35 minutes reviewing videotapes and hitting charts with hitting coach John Mallee before the Cubs (93-65) pulled away to a 10-3 victory over the Reds on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park that stretched their winning streak to four.

Although Bryant went 0-for-4 and remains one RBI shy of reaching 100, his teammates picked up the slack. Jon Lester (11-12), in his final start of the regular season, pitched eight innings of three-hit ball as the Cubs are now assured of playing the Pirates in the National League wild-card game on Oct. 7.

“I want to make sure we’re going to be contenders,” said Lester, who signed a six-year, $155 million contract last December. “I want to make sure that we’re going to be somewhat in this thing. I didn’t want to be in last place and have to deal with that again.

“To expect 93 wins, I don’t think anyone did. I don’t think the front office or the fans or any of you guys believed we could (win) 93 games. I think we surprised probably ourselves a bit and the people around us.”

Austin Jackson set a single-game career high with five RBIs, and Starlin Castro went 4-for-5 with a home run to finish the month of September with a .426 batting average.

Those contributions took the load off Bryant, whose 36 hits in September were the most for a Cubs rookie since Shawon Dunston (37) in 1985.

Bryant has raised his batting average 35 points over the last two months to .279 and that has alleviated much of manager Joe Maddon’s concerns about his players wearing down.

Bryant felt invigorated at the plate as he’s motivated by the opportunity to play in the postseason.

“We’re all pretty beat up here, but when you have the crowd cheering you on, it picks you up,” Bryant said. “We’ll be running on a lot of adrenaline here.”

During his struggles, Bryant was careful not to tinker too much with his mechanics. But he did spend much of his time with Mallee examining the hot spots in his hitting zone and videotapes.

“I think there’s a point where you have too much information,” Bryant said. “But with the video systems and all the stuff you have your hands on up here, you would be foolish not to take advantage of that.

“Those kind of things have helped me out, especially with (Mallee) and what he sees. Just having his input on things really helps me out at the plate.”

Bryant was unaware that 48 of his 99 RBIs have come with two outs — the most for a rookie since Albert Pujols (51) in 2001 for the Cardinals.

Bryant does admit he becomes more focused with runners in scoring position. He learned from hitting only .208 in 72 at-bats in those situations at Triple-A Iowa last season.

“RBI is one of my favorite stats,” said Bryant, who is batting .303 with 63 RBIs with runners in scoring position.

“As players, we’re not supposed focus on our stats, but it’s nice to see a complete change from last year. I relied on all my home runs in the minor leagues to get me (RBIs).

“This year I made a point to make sure I’m more focused and sharp at the plate.”