PEORIA, Arizona. – When Cubs manager David Ross set up his first spring training on Monday, he listed Anthony Rizzo in first place. It is the same Rizzo who once proclaimed himself the greatest starting hitter of all time.
No, there is no controversy over Chicago’s request.
There is a risk of reading a lot in the Spring Training lineups, especially when the games start and the veterans are gradually integrated into the mix. The opening game of the Cubs’ Cactus League was a day off for Ian Happ, who won the leadership role last season and will remain there on Opening Day.
“Ian has the opportunity to continue in that role,” said Ross ahead of his team’s 1-0 win over Padres. “That was a guy who had a phenomenal year for the short season. He continues to grow and discover his strengths and weaknesses. I can see him continue to improve.”
At the start of Spring Training a year ago, Ross was quick to declare Kris Bryant his choice for the leadership role as one of his first business orders. The manager liked the idea of Bryant’s mix of power, skill at the base and basic run at the top of the order, and the third-base star was on board with the experiment.
That decision was made before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sport, leading to a disjointed year with an abbreviated season. And during that 60-game race, Bryant was never at full strength. A variety of injury setbacks impacted his performance and time on the pitch, creating an opportunity for Happ.
Happ was ninth on Opening Day on July 24 last season and launched a home run in the win over the Brewers. With so much emphasis on each win, Ross needed to play the hot hand. On August 18, Happ was installed as the No. 1 hitter and responded with a home run, two hits and two walks in his first game.
“[One thing] I really appreciate about Rossy, he will take you there and continue, “said Happ.” This was a little different than in the past, when I came to the leadership, and I think that was what led to last year’s success consistency. “
Happ sometimes said he was happy to take on “the burden” of leading some of the other Cubs hitter. To that end, Chicago has had a kind of revolving door – both in terms of personnel and production – in the role of table-maker in recent years.
Consider that from 2017-19, the Cubs went through 17 players (in terms of starts) in the starting position. It happened after Dexter Fowler was the arsonist at the top of the lineup during Chicago’s journey to World Series glory in ’16. Since Fowler’s departure, the North Siders have been looking for consistency in this work.
Here is a look at the initial production of the Cubs for the past five years:
2016: .267 / .381 / .434, 123 wRC +
2017: .246 / .324 / .422, 94 wRC +
2018: .302 / .366 / .454. 121 wRC +
2019: .212 / .294 / .383, 77 wRC +
2020: .211 / .307 / .418, 96 wRC +
Last year’s numbers are a bit misleading, given that Bryant featured a .177 / .271 / .323 line in his 16 games as the leading man. Happ started 37 games in that role and hit .239 / .333 / .486 with a 119 wRC +. In 275 career appearances as an initial hitter, Happ posted an OPS of 0.809 with 15 homers.
Overall last season, Happ reached 0.258 with 12 homers, 28 RBIs and a 0.866 OPS in 57 games, but the past few weeks have had an impact on his overall display.
Happ was hit in the eye by a foul by chance on September 3 in Pittsburgh, missed a day and then hit two home runs on his return on September 5, at the opening of a double game against the Cardinals. Including game 2 of that day, the central defender then reached 0.153 / 0.247 / 0.181 in 81 PAs for the remainder of the regular season.
Happ said the eye problem was more of a mental rather than a physical setback.
“It was a difficult three-week period to end the year, for sure,” he said. “The eye was something that was a challenge and, most of all, a mental challenge. Because when something like this happens, especially something that is really critical to your game, doubt can come easily if things start to go wrong. “
Between the season and the playoffs, Happ said he was able to use downtime to find out what was affecting him. What he discovered had more to do with the timing of his swing than anything else.
“I could see that there were some problems with arriving on time,” explained Happ. “I managed to fix that in our two playoff games. And I felt really good about making those adjustments. And the goal for this year is to make them faster and mentally faster.”
As a leader, this will also be imperative.
With Happ being an alternate hitter, Ross has some flexibility in how he can proceed with the lineup from there. Whether Ross puts Bryant’s right-hander in second place or Rizzo’s left-hander in that position, the coach will have different ways of switching right-handers and left-handers to maintain balance.
“We are going to put [Happ] at the top of the lineup to reach the base in front of some horses, “said Ross.” As long as everyone stays healthy, we will be working with him back. “