The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci

Author:Tom Verducci
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2017-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

The first assignment Theo Epstein gave Joe Maddon after hiring him as manager of the Cubs was to go see Javier Baez in Puerto Rico at the end of January 2015. Baez was their top prospect, a 22-year-old infielder with the kind of wicked bat speed that reminded scouts of former major league slugger Gary Sheffield.

One morning during the previous spring training in Mesa, Arizona, Epstein said to me, “Come with me. You have to see this,” and we headed to a back field, where Baez was taking batting practice. It was like watching the golfer John Daly blast tee shots on the driving range. Baez sent one ball after another high and far beyond the outfield fence, but it was the brutal violence in his swing that was more arresting than the ball flight. Swing after swing, Baez created tremendous torque with a looping motion with his hands just to get himself ready to swing—the barrel of his bat wrapped behind his head and pointed at the pitcher, as if making a personal threat he would make good on. When the bat did come around to meet the baseball, Baez swung as if his life depended on it. One manager in the Pacific Coast League, where Baez played with Triple-A Iowa most of that summer, said the highlight of his season was watching Baez take batting practice. Opponents stopped what they were doing to watch when he took BP.

Baez made his major league debut late in the 2014 season, and did so with unprecedented impact. He hit a home run in his first major league game. He hit two home runs in his third game, becoming the first player in Cubs history to post a multihomer game so quickly. But Baez’s grip-it-and-rip-it approach came with a downside: he piled up strikeouts and rarely walked. He also was prone to emotional outbursts on the field that gave away his youth.

Epstein asked Maddon to watch Baez play for Santurce in the winter league playoffs. He had two reasons for dispatching his new manager to visit his top prospect. One, he wanted Maddon to establish a personal connection with Baez. And two, knowing that Baez figured to be a part of the Cubs’ 2015 plans, he wanted Maddon to evaluate Baez’s skills before spring training. Epstein and Jed Hoyer already had extensively reviewed players on the roster with Maddon, who was growing excited about the young talent available to him.

“It’s really fascinating, and I kind of relate,” Maddon said shortly before flying to Puerto Rico. “I started out as a scout through those different states. I definitely have the scouting gene in me. [Former Angels scouting director] Larry Himes was the guy who nurtured that within me. Larry was outstanding, so I feel like I’m a good scout. Looking at these players right here, I’m not being a genius: these are really interesting players.

“The big thing is, can we make them accountable? And how professional are they going to be about the day? I don’t know that yet.

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