Bryant adds to the drama that surrounds Wrigley
For Kris Bryant, his major-league debut Friday was an extrasensory experience.
"I just absorbed everything," the Cubs' phenom said after going 0-for-4 and playing solid third-base defense in a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. "It was just a fun moment. All the smells and sounds and playing in front of, I don't know, what was it, 30,00 people? I think that's the biggest crowd I've played in front of. They're all cheering for you. It was just a really cool moment for me."
As it turned out, Bryant was just part of the story during a thoroughly entertaining baseball game played in ideal spring conditions.
The 23-year-old Bryant received a standing ovation from the crowd of 32,138 before striking out against James Shields in the first inning. It was the first of 3 straight strikeouts before he grounded into an inning-ending forceout in the seventh.
On the other side of the ball, Bryant made several nice defensive plays, including a diving backhand snag of Derek Norris' liner to end the top of the fifth. Bryant also started a double-play in the first.
"We did bring him up for his glove, didn't we?" joked manager Joe Maddon, whose team fell to 5-4.
Maddon was part of some drama, too. With the Cubs leading 4-2 in the top of the seventh, relief pitcher Brian Schlitter looked to have Wil Myers struck out, but umpire Sam Holbrook called the pitch a strike. Myers promptly homered to make the score 5-4. That made a loser of starting pitcher Jason Hammel, who worked 6⅓ innings.
Maddon went out to talk with Schlitter and let Holbrook know how he felt, in quite animated fashion, getting tossed out of the game for his histrionics.
"Of course, we'd like to have that pitch called a strike," Maddon said. "But even after it wasn't, we have to make a better pitch than that. I'm not going to sit here and blame umpires for our lack of execution.
"(Getting ejected) was intentional. We still have to execute, but I can't permit that to happen without saying something."
Bryant's arrival was the talk of the day, and in addition to taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the day, there was plenty of emotion flowing from Bryant and his family.
After tearing up the Cactus League, Bryant found himself sent back to minor-league camp late in spring training as the Cubs aimed to limit his major-league service time and delay his free-agency clock by one year. Bryant said there were no hard feelings and that he was here to enjoy the day.
He was going on three hours sleep after getting the call-up from Class AAA Iowa while in New Orleans Thursday night.
"Time of my life," he said. "I can't really put into words how good of a feeling this is to work for this your whole life and finally get that chance. I think the journey is just starting. I want to win a lot of games and win for the Cubs.
"We really didn't know when it would happen. I'm sure when they got the time to reflect on it, there were tears of joy. I know my dad was crying - I've never seen my dad cry before."
His dad, Mike, and mom, Susie, both were in attendance Friday.
"It's humanizing," Mike Bryant said. "I think that's missing today. People are emotional. It was my dream to play in the big leagues since I was 6 years old. My passion for the game is unbelievable. If my mother was around today to talk to you guys, she would say the same thing. My mother led the league in passion, and I wish she was here today. She wanted Kris to be drafted by the Cubs. Imagine that emotion."
Although Bryant had a mixed bag in the baseball department, Cubs president Theo Epstein reminded the media that Bryant went 0-for-5 with 5 strikeouts in his pro debut at Class A Boise after being the Cubs' top draft pick in 2013.
Bryant maintained that perspective after the game.
"It was fun," he said. "Sure, I could have done a little better. There are two sides to the ball. I played well on defense, didn't come around on hitting, but I helped my team out as much as I could."
That sounded a lot like what he said before the game in an interview room packed with 40 or more media members.
"For me, it's realizing why I play this game," he said. "It's not because of the money or any of the fame. It's because it's fun. It's because it's a dream of mine. It's what I've wanted to do my whole life. When you have the right perspective in this game and in life, things usually turn out the way you want them to. That's the way I've been playing my whole career. I think that's the way I'll continue to play."
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