John Mallee

Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer

One word comes to mind when I think of Chicago Cubs rookie of the year Kris Bryant: inevitable.

From his ascension to the big leagues to his success in the majors, there has simply been an inevitability to his career. When the Cubs drafted him No. 2 overall in 2013 there was a feeling they had chosen someone special, and in the coming months that notion became reality. Bryant hit everything he saw. And he hit it far. And he hasn’t stopped hitting.

After winning the Golden Spikes Award for best amateur player the summer before he was drafted, Bryant took home MVP of the Arizona Fall League. That’s where I met him, and right away I knew the Cubs had a keeper. His size stood out, as did his demeanor. And his confidence. Never arrogant or cocky but always sure of his abilities, Bryant kept racking up the honors and awards.

In 2014 he made the Double-A All-Star team, won the home run derby there and went on to become Minor League Player of the Year. This past spring he and agent Scott Boras made headlines when signs began pointing toward Bryant starting the season in the minors. From a pure talent perspective it was an absurd notion, because, in Bryant, the Cubs had a player as ready for major league life as any rookie. He understood his swing better than many veterans and was hardly going to let the big leagues swallow him up. He’s as grounded as they come.

Slump, learn, adjust, succeed. That was Kris Bryant’s Rookie of the Year season and will be his career.

To understand Bryant’s game is like understanding a thinking robot, one who can perform yet learn, and be better for it at the same time. Both manager Joe Maddon and hitting coach John Mallee have marveled at this ability. Bryant could be having a terrible game but he never gave away a plate appearance. And within that poor game he was always learning. Then in that ninth inning at-bat, with the outcome already decided, he simply took a walk or singled to left field and the corner was turned; the next day, Bryant was back to raking. It’s a quality fellow rookie Kyle Schwarber also possesses. It happened many times this season and kept Bryant’s numbers afloat when they easily could have gone south.

A common theme among great hitters isn’t just the streaks they go on, it’s the limit to their slumps. Bryant’s slumps will be shorter and shorter throughout his career as he learns more and more. His numbers will become near robotic, in fact. Would you bet against him hitting 30 or more home runs for the next decade straight? I wouldn’t.

Watching him climb the home run ladder for rookies this season provided a good example of Bryant’s nature. He went the first 20 games of his major league career without hitting one. Here was the home run leader in college, then in the minors the season before, and again in spring training this year, now stuck in the middle of the longest home run drought of his life. He was asked about it daily. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson was bashing his way to an early lead among rookies. Pederson hit four in April, nine in May and seven more in June. That’s 20 before July 1 and he looked like the presumptive favorite for Rookie of the Year. He ended up with 26 — the same total as Bryant. The latter player kept adjusting and kept on coming while Pederson began a rookie fade.

Slump, learn, adjust, succeed. That was Bryant’s season and will be his career. But even when he wasn’t hitting home runs those first 20 games he wasn’t necessarily slumping as much as the long balls just weren’t there. He still drove in 32 runs in April and May despite missing the first eight games while in the minors. He never went more than a few games without contributing while improving on defense immensely along the way. And then there was his baserunning. It was such a shock to see a 6-foot-5 rookie run the bases so aggressively he was dubbed “the un-taggable man” by several scouts. It wasn’t just his speed, it was how he ran. He understood the nuances of the game on the basepaths, something his manager took special notice of.

While fellow rookie slugger Joc Pederson wilted, Bryant blossomed. AP Photo/Matt Marton
The bigger adjustments at the plate came after the All-Star break. Mallee tweaked Bryant’s patented uppercut swing as the two began to better understand Wrigley Field. With the wind blowing in 75 percent of the time in 2015, Bryant needed more line drives and fewer fly balls. The liners started to come, which brought his average back up. Learn, adjust, succeed.

Off the field, Bryant embraced his celebrity more than many around him would have thought. He’s a baseball rat but was willing to show another side of himself, which many rookies can be resistant to doing. From opening his Chicago home to cameras to pretending to be a Lyft driver, Bryant took his newfound fame with a smile. He fit in perfectly with Maddon’s childlike atmosphere in the locker room. Pajamas for an overnight flight? That’s right up Bryant’s alley.

That attitude and character helped contribute to his success — or, more important, will help contribute to what should be his sustained success. Unlike some other past Cubs rookies who have taken home this award, Bryant’s best days are clearly ahead of him. Even as he achieves this honor he’s ensconced in his hometown of Las Vegas with his father Mike, working to get to the next level. Hitting changeups better was one offseason goal. His 199 strikeouts? That should be a career high. And yes, Bryant is devising ways to drive that runner home from third with less than two outs more often, a weakness of the Cubs overall. You have to remember this is a player who hates ground balls, but once in a while a grounder to second base on that down-and-away pitch with the infield back is just as important as a deep fly. One thing you can be assured of is Bryant won’t be satisfied with Rookie of the Year, just as he wasn’t for his previous honors.

“He is always trying to learn and improve and doesn’t have fear of making adjustments,” Mallee said Monday. “He wants to be the best player in the game, period.”

On days like this, as we look back at his season, it almost feels inevitable he’ll be the best. In 2015, among his rookie peers, Bryant was the best of the group. And this is just the beginning.