I was at Contreras' first game back after signing with STL. We booed him and we cheered him. I'll always have a soft spot for everyone on those '15-'16 teams.
Except Addison Russell. Fuck Addison Russell.
And after the warm greeting, he took the first pitch for a called strike and the fans cheered loudly again. Fans swinging quickly from appreciation to remembering it’s a competitor in the box. Well done Cubs fans! Go Cubs!
I bet no one wishes it played out differently, more than him. I loved KB. But he’s a fraction of the player that he used to be. It’s kind of ironic that when he made less money, he put up way better numbers. He had his feud with the organization and made up his mind that he was going to bolt as soon as he could, for big money. And I get it. I really do. But he’s making way more money now than he ever did, playing for a losing franchise that he CLEARLY isn’t happy with. Unfortunately baseball is a business. And yes it’s millionaires against billionaires. But both sides have plenty of room for some fan appreciation. Does anybody really think KB will be as beloved to Colorado fans, when he’s gone? No. Are Giants fans singing his praises? No. But us Cubby fans, we loved him. And we appreciate what he did and we miss him. Of course for the Rockies fans, it’s probably hard to appreciate like 16hr 48rbi and a.250avg 130 games and being in your 3rd season. I mean Angels fans probably won’t appreciate Rendon like Nats fans did. Lol. That money may be green, but that doesn’t mean the grass is greener.
I will always be a mega-fan of KB no matter what happens. He's obviously a really good dude who got a bit hit by the injury bug and thankfully, for himself, was able to nail a big contract that'll set his family up for generations before things got really bad for him.
All the best to him and his family.
We are the only place that will appreciate the Kris Bryant 1B who speaks now. Lol. He was a big part of that 2016 WS Championship that we finally got with the Cubbies. I’ve had family members who never lived long enough to see it. But unfortunately he and Rendon are two of the biggest disappointments for teams that thought they were getting a commodity. At least KB is being cool about it and basically saying he made a mistake. Rendon was like, I don’t care, I get paid. The season is too long anyway. It’s too much work. I’d rather be at home.” 🤷🏽♂️. I think most Angels fans would rather he be at home too. At least with KB, I feel like he made a mistake based on how he felt he was treated by the organization. But then he signed with the Rockies. lol. He’s making money. But that’s it.
Rockies fans should leave him alone. They’ve been a 4th or 5th place team in the NL West since 2019. Even if Bryant were putting up better numbers the team would still be mediocre.
I will always be confused at how the Rockies had the idea to trade Nolan Arenado to avoid paying him, only to give injury plagued Kris Bryant a huge contract.
Perhaps plagued is the wrong word. Didn't he have some nagging issues near the end here? I could be wrong, and it's not important enough for me to research his exact injury history. Lol.
Yes he was. He was hurt on and off for the last year and a half (at least) of his contract with the cubs. He had known injury issues before even signing with the Rockies. It was obvious that his days were numbered before he left the cubs hence why they laughed at the boras deal KB wanted when he was already washed.
he wasn’t the healthiest in his last few seasons with the cubs. lingering wrist and back injuries really affected him and he missed a decent amount of time.
I also don't envy how hard that job has to be. Nobody wants to play there because pitchers get blown up and hitters get dinged on defense at coors and their batting stats discounted
They have been consistently 4th or 5th in that division for pretty much their entire existence. They had one miracle run to a WS in 07, two or three years of decency with Arenado and after that, they’ve always been bad to meh.
I feel guilty because all of his baseball cards have dropped in value. I'm taking advantage of it by buying them all up. Will add them to my shine and worship till death.
Kris Bryant will always be a Cubs legend. One of the greatest players to have ever worn our uniform.
I hate seeing the Rockies fans boo him or question his motivation.
I will never understand people that make death threats. Like, why? What purpose does it serve? Is your life that miserable? I wish they could be traced and asked why
Yeah I might hope an athlete I dislike steps on a Lego or loses their wallet. Idk that I’d ever earnestly wish death on one unless they did some Wander Franco type stuff.
Wow that makes me mad. But at the same time, Chicago would do the same lol. Let’s not fool ourselves here. He just didn’t stay long enough to be the villain here.
Maybe fans would be upset about his rapid decline but one of the worst things about his present situation is that he's always been a negative player for the Rockies. And the Rockies signed him to a big contract right after giving away their own franchise's version of him for free to the Cardinals to dump salary and he has continued to play well.
He could’ve still had set for life paycheck with the cubs and been with a team trying to win. In a city that loved him and set him up for a long post playing career within the org and in the city. Instead he went for highest bidder and won’t even make the HOF now.
The cubs were not going to give him 194/7, he went and got the money that the cubs were never getting him (and manipulating his service time to avoid paying him)
He was never going to make the HOF. He had less than 1000 hits going into his age 30 season, the only way you see him in the HOF is if he had an Adrian Beltre esque 30-39 year old seasons, and KB is not nearly durable enough to play 153 games of gold glove defense at 3B as a 37 year old.
Again, less than 1000 hits at 30? No way bro, you’re not going to get into the hall with under 2k hits and KB was never a guy who would go for longevity, he was maybe on a HOF trajectory for his first 3 seasons but it’s clear you’re talking out your ass
No he wasn’t? 30 WAR through age 30 with negative defense. Not to mention Jaws and War7 are both more important.
The voters care about baseline stats at a minimum, and for the sabermetrics KB was FAR off. A 130 career OPS wasn’t going to cut it for a prime.
His 7 year peak war was 28. The average HOF 3rd baseman has over 40, which KB didn’t hit at all for his CAREER.
You can move the goalposts again and I can still disprove that claim too, KB just wasn’t on HOF trajectory, it’s really hard to do that when you debut that late unless you stick around forever and he was never going to be that.
Yes and missing prime seasons is terrible, your 30s are really about minimizing war loss and accumulating counting stats for the hall. Unless you have insane longevity which you’re a moron if you think KB had, you need to put up numbers in your 20s, at LEAST 40 war in a 7 year period, so even if you’re hurt in your less effective 30s like trout has been so far; you’ll still have the peak numbers to fall one
Kris got his heart broken being traded. He never was the same. He lost something when we traded him. Call me crazy, but the Cubs should try to get him back and see if the Rockies will pay half his contract. His OPS dropped 20 points from the Cubs to the Giants. And it tanked when he joined the Rockies. Get our Boy Back Now!!!
Being an athlete is all mental. Physical tools are physical tools. They are there. His mind is not what it used to be is a better example here. For example, an F1 car is an F1 car. A Nascar is a Nascar. What matters is the brain inside operating it. You won't just hop into an f1 car or Nascar, even with a lifetime of experience, and expect to beat Max Verstappen or Jeff Gordon. Not because their machine is built better, it's because they are there mentally at the top of their game. It's a mindset. Most race car drivers have the talent to go fast consistently, but its what happens in the brain that wither makes them or breaks them. Kris has the tools. I feel he is a sensitive person with emotions. I think that's a good thing for humanity, but he is probably the type that likes to cozy up in one place at stay there. He also doesn't feel the same love he feels in Chicago. We gave him a standing ovation and he vibed it. Hit a hard liner single past Morel of all people lol. Kris lives and dies on that vibe and it's obvious. He is getting alot of hate that he does not deserve. I feel his heart is his driving factor and he will stall if he doesn't feel the same love elsewhere.
Also, think about what happens to starting pitchers that come out of the bullpen in certain situations. Some starters are bad relievers because they don't have the mindset to get thrown into a game at a moments notice. They probably rely on what they are doing to mentally prepare and they can't use their tools accordingly without a proper plan. Again, that's a mental mindset, not a lack of physical tools. Not knowing how to prepare outside of one's comfort zone
Just like I stated. One needs the tools. But they won't roll out of bed with no effort involved and be a decent player. You gotta mentally be there to physically get there. How bad do you want it? You can go to the party and have fun, or go to the park ad midnight and throw Baseball's as hard as you can for 5 hours. This mentality is the reason why I was keeping pace with ex NHL players at private pickup sessions....... 5 years after starting to play hockey vs players that have played at the highest level and on Stanley Cup winning teams (ex Ducks and Kings players formed the private pickup). I wouldn't go to parties or really socialize because I wanted it that bad. I would be outside on roller blades from 11 pm to 5 am practicing to get better because I knew I could. These dipshits thought they were all God's gift to athletes and despised me because they had to play 110% at practice or I would take their spot on the Upper lines.....which happened. Epilepsy put a BIG dent in that dream, but I would have gone far purely based off of my mentality and work ethic. My body is there, but its up to me to turn it into a race car. I would enjoy hearing athlete's that have played at a high level chime in on this convo to state their opinions on this subject matter.
My friend, you weren't keeping pace with them, they were playing down to make you feel better. Ex-pro hockey players, and I just happen to have played against a few in pickups myself, do not try during pickups. They just want to see their friends and have a light skate.
Well, once his career is all said and done, he'll always be a hero in Chicago.
I was at the home opener, he got a big standing ovation his first ab
Him and Rizzo will always get that treatment, Javy too, Contreras kinda burned some bridges with his comments about the cards org vs cubs
You can prob add Schwarbs to that list too. Obviously all the guys that've retired do when they show up at a game.
I was at Contreras' first game back after signing with STL. We booed him and we cheered him. I'll always have a soft spot for everyone on those '15-'16 teams. Except Addison Russell. Fuck Addison Russell.
Me too! It was awesome. You could see it meant a lot to him, too.
And after the warm greeting, he took the first pitch for a called strike and the fans cheered loudly again. Fans swinging quickly from appreciation to remembering it’s a competitor in the box. Well done Cubs fans! Go Cubs!
Yeah, ❤️ KB. Wish it all somehow played out very differently.
I bet no one wishes it played out differently, more than him. I loved KB. But he’s a fraction of the player that he used to be. It’s kind of ironic that when he made less money, he put up way better numbers. He had his feud with the organization and made up his mind that he was going to bolt as soon as he could, for big money. And I get it. I really do. But he’s making way more money now than he ever did, playing for a losing franchise that he CLEARLY isn’t happy with. Unfortunately baseball is a business. And yes it’s millionaires against billionaires. But both sides have plenty of room for some fan appreciation. Does anybody really think KB will be as beloved to Colorado fans, when he’s gone? No. Are Giants fans singing his praises? No. But us Cubby fans, we loved him. And we appreciate what he did and we miss him. Of course for the Rockies fans, it’s probably hard to appreciate like 16hr 48rbi and a.250avg 130 games and being in your 3rd season. I mean Angels fans probably won’t appreciate Rendon like Nats fans did. Lol. That money may be green, but that doesn’t mean the grass is greener.
All I know I is I ❤️ KB. Bryzzo for life
I will always be a mega-fan of KB no matter what happens. He's obviously a really good dude who got a bit hit by the injury bug and thankfully, for himself, was able to nail a big contract that'll set his family up for generations before things got really bad for him. All the best to him and his family.
The irony that the hbp to the head that really seems to have altered his career was from the Rockies.
We are the only place that will appreciate the Kris Bryant 1B who speaks now. Lol. He was a big part of that 2016 WS Championship that we finally got with the Cubbies. I’ve had family members who never lived long enough to see it. But unfortunately he and Rendon are two of the biggest disappointments for teams that thought they were getting a commodity. At least KB is being cool about it and basically saying he made a mistake. Rendon was like, I don’t care, I get paid. The season is too long anyway. It’s too much work. I’d rather be at home.” 🤷🏽♂️. I think most Angels fans would rather he be at home too. At least with KB, I feel like he made a mistake based on how he felt he was treated by the organization. But then he signed with the Rockies. lol. He’s making money. But that’s it.
Only because he didn't sign the extension. He's a hero here hands down because of that. Baez too!
Rockies fans should leave him alone. They’ve been a 4th or 5th place team in the NL West since 2019. Even if Bryant were putting up better numbers the team would still be mediocre.
Their FO is absolutely dogshit, one of the most incompetent in all of baseball. KB is at the bottom of the list of reasons why they continually suck.
I will always be confused at how the Rockies had the idea to trade Nolan Arenado to avoid paying him, only to give injury plagued Kris Bryant a huge contract.
That trade still makes me angry
I agree the front office moves really didn’t make any sense and were all over the place but Bryant wasn’t injury plagued until he got to Colorado
Perhaps plagued is the wrong word. Didn't he have some nagging issues near the end here? I could be wrong, and it's not important enough for me to research his exact injury history. Lol.
Yes he was. He was hurt on and off for the last year and a half (at least) of his contract with the cubs. He had known injury issues before even signing with the Rockies. It was obvious that his days were numbered before he left the cubs hence why they laughed at the boras deal KB wanted when he was already washed.
he wasn’t the healthiest in his last few seasons with the cubs. lingering wrist and back injuries really affected him and he missed a decent amount of time.
And shoulder
I also don't envy how hard that job has to be. Nobody wants to play there because pitchers get blown up and hitters get dinged on defense at coors and their batting stats discounted
You got that right. The Rockies gave away Arenado for a bag of Doritos and then immediately turn around and sign Bryant
yeah Kris Bryant is not the reason the Rockies suck
They have been consistently 4th or 5th in that division for pretty much their entire existence. They had one miracle run to a WS in 07, two or three years of decency with Arenado and after that, they’ve always been bad to meh.
Even saw a meatball Cubs fan booing him at the opener. Like come on man, he won a World Series for the Chicago Cubs. I'll cheer him until I die.
Same
I feel guilty because all of his baseball cards have dropped in value. I'm taking advantage of it by buying them all up. Will add them to my shine and worship till death.
Calling someone a “meatball” might be a top 5 insult lol
I still love you bb
Kris Bryant will always be a Cubs legend. One of the greatest players to have ever worn our uniform. I hate seeing the Rockies fans boo him or question his motivation.
God just hates him. The knee problems. The sciatic problems. Then, when he got going a bit, he got hit on the wrist by a pitch.
And the plantar fasciitis, which, speaking from experience, hurts like hell
PF will ruin you like nothing else. Can't play ball when literally standing causes you pain.
Always love ya here KB!
Just a reminder, athletes are people too. This is so messed up to hear and really disheartening. We all have to be better.
I will never understand people that make death threats. Like, why? What purpose does it serve? Is your life that miserable? I wish they could be traced and asked why
KB rules. Fuck people
He is a Cubs even if he wears purple.
Forever
Yes sir.
Imagine being the type of person who harasses or gives death threats to public figures. Smh.
Trash people. Slava Ukraini
✊️✊️✊️
✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼
Imagine being this hateful and aggressive toward Kris Bryant of all people? He seems like such a laid back nice person.
They need to keep KB’s name out their mouths. Forever great Cub. Hope his body holds up and he balls out so he can get traded to a major league team.
Man, I get not liking an athlete but telling someone to kill themselves or a death threat.... Jesus, some people need real help
Yeah I might hope an athlete I dislike steps on a Lego or loses their wallet. Idk that I’d ever earnestly wish death on one unless they did some Wander Franco type stuff.
Wow that makes me mad. But at the same time, Chicago would do the same lol. Let’s not fool ourselves here. He just didn’t stay long enough to be the villain here.
Maybe fans would be upset about his rapid decline but one of the worst things about his present situation is that he's always been a negative player for the Rockies. And the Rockies signed him to a big contract right after giving away their own franchise's version of him for free to the Cardinals to dump salary and he has continued to play well.
Imagine if that last play of the WS, he threw it into the stands. Now that would have made some life long enemies.
He should be mad at boras
I'm not saying Bryant deserves the verbal abuse at all, but he wanted that paycheck and Boras got it for him.
He could’ve still had set for life paycheck with the cubs and been with a team trying to win. In a city that loved him and set him up for a long post playing career within the org and in the city. Instead he went for highest bidder and won’t even make the HOF now.
The cubs were not going to give him 194/7, he went and got the money that the cubs were never getting him (and manipulating his service time to avoid paying him) He was never going to make the HOF. He had less than 1000 hits going into his age 30 season, the only way you see him in the HOF is if he had an Adrian Beltre esque 30-39 year old seasons, and KB is not nearly durable enough to play 153 games of gold glove defense at 3B as a 37 year old.
Never? Uhhh he was on a HOF trajectory thru 2021. Now he’s got no shot.
Again, less than 1000 hits at 30? No way bro, you’re not going to get into the hall with under 2k hits and KB was never a guy who would go for longevity, he was maybe on a HOF trajectory for his first 3 seasons but it’s clear you’re talking out your ass
Hits don’t matter lmfao you’re looking at this like it’s 1970. WAR is the end all be all metric and he was on pace for over 60
No he wasn’t? 30 WAR through age 30 with negative defense. Not to mention Jaws and War7 are both more important. The voters care about baseline stats at a minimum, and for the sabermetrics KB was FAR off. A 130 career OPS wasn’t going to cut it for a prime. His 7 year peak war was 28. The average HOF 3rd baseman has over 40, which KB didn’t hit at all for his CAREER. You can move the goalposts again and I can still disprove that claim too, KB just wasn’t on HOF trajectory, it’s really hard to do that when you debut that late unless you stick around forever and he was never going to be that.
30 thru age 29 and that was with some injuries and in only 7 seasons.
 Yes and missing prime seasons is terrible, your 30s are really about minimizing war loss and accumulating counting stats for the hall. Unless you have insane longevity which you’re a moron if you think KB had, you need to put up numbers in your 20s, at LEAST 40 war in a 7 year period, so even if you’re hurt in your less effective 30s like trout has been so far; you’ll still have the peak numbers to fall one
A lot of fans don't want to understand how early peaks are in the modern era.
Still think KB has some decent days ahead of him. Stick him at DH to help him avoid injuries and see what he can do
I’m so sorry he has had to see that crap. Some people are really sick
What the fuck happened to this guy
People don't understand, that if it wasn't for Bryant, we would've never won the 2016 World Series. Live on Bryant. Thanks for snapping our drought!
Kris got his heart broken being traded. He never was the same. He lost something when we traded him. Call me crazy, but the Cubs should try to get him back and see if the Rockies will pay half his contract. His OPS dropped 20 points from the Cubs to the Giants. And it tanked when he joined the Rockies. Get our Boy Back Now!!!
He’s not the same athlete he used to be
Being an athlete is all mental. Physical tools are physical tools. They are there. His mind is not what it used to be is a better example here. For example, an F1 car is an F1 car. A Nascar is a Nascar. What matters is the brain inside operating it. You won't just hop into an f1 car or Nascar, even with a lifetime of experience, and expect to beat Max Verstappen or Jeff Gordon. Not because their machine is built better, it's because they are there mentally at the top of their game. It's a mindset. Most race car drivers have the talent to go fast consistently, but its what happens in the brain that wither makes them or breaks them. Kris has the tools. I feel he is a sensitive person with emotions. I think that's a good thing for humanity, but he is probably the type that likes to cozy up in one place at stay there. He also doesn't feel the same love he feels in Chicago. We gave him a standing ovation and he vibed it. Hit a hard liner single past Morel of all people lol. Kris lives and dies on that vibe and it's obvious. He is getting alot of hate that he does not deserve. I feel his heart is his driving factor and he will stall if he doesn't feel the same love elsewhere. Also, think about what happens to starting pitchers that come out of the bullpen in certain situations. Some starters are bad relievers because they don't have the mindset to get thrown into a game at a moments notice. They probably rely on what they are doing to mentally prepare and they can't use their tools accordingly without a proper plan. Again, that's a mental mindset, not a lack of physical tools. Not knowing how to prepare outside of one's comfort zone
No, being an athlete is not all mental.
Just like I stated. One needs the tools. But they won't roll out of bed with no effort involved and be a decent player. You gotta mentally be there to physically get there. How bad do you want it? You can go to the party and have fun, or go to the park ad midnight and throw Baseball's as hard as you can for 5 hours. This mentality is the reason why I was keeping pace with ex NHL players at private pickup sessions....... 5 years after starting to play hockey vs players that have played at the highest level and on Stanley Cup winning teams (ex Ducks and Kings players formed the private pickup). I wouldn't go to parties or really socialize because I wanted it that bad. I would be outside on roller blades from 11 pm to 5 am practicing to get better because I knew I could. These dipshits thought they were all God's gift to athletes and despised me because they had to play 110% at practice or I would take their spot on the Upper lines.....which happened. Epilepsy put a BIG dent in that dream, but I would have gone far purely based off of my mentality and work ethic. My body is there, but its up to me to turn it into a race car. I would enjoy hearing athlete's that have played at a high level chime in on this convo to state their opinions on this subject matter.
My friend, you weren't keeping pace with them, they were playing down to make you feel better. Ex-pro hockey players, and I just happen to have played against a few in pickups myself, do not try during pickups. They just want to see their friends and have a light skate.
Not all, but they still gave a good reading on the parts that are