Tag / Kyle Tucker

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Playoff Batting Leaders

A mixed bag for the local teams following the start of their respective Wild Card Series yesterday, with the White Sox taking a one game lead against the Astros while the Cubs were blown out by the Padres.  With both series potentially wrapping up today, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 35 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Dexter Fowler 3
Enrique Hernandez 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10
Moises Alou 9
Jason Heyward 9

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Kyle Tucker 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Kris Bryant 5
Javier Baez 5
Continue reading →
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2025 Final Batting Leaders

Another season of baseball season is in the books, with the White Sox disappointing their fans with their third straight 100-loss season while the Cubs failed to live up to expectations despite making it back to the postseason for the first time since 20200.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 39 games that I attended this season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Andrew Benintendi 6
Lenyn Sosa 6
Mike Tauchman 5
Colson Montgomery 5
Kyle Manzardo 4

Hits

Name Total
Lenyn Sosa 29
Andrew Benintendi 28
Chase Meidroth 26
Miguel Vargas 25
Luis Robert 19

Runs

Name Total
Chase Meidroth 18
Andrew Benintendi 16
Continue reading →
by admin

Playoff Batting Leaders

With their Wild Card Series tied at a game apiece, the Cubs will battle against the Padres this afternoon for the rights to move on and face the Brewers in the NLDS.  With that in mind, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 33 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Dexter Fowler 3
Enrique Hernandez 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10
Moises Alou 9
Jason Heyward 9

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Kris Bryant 5
Javier Baez 5
Continue reading →
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2025 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All-Star Game in the books and a few days of rest before the unofficial second half kicks off, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 23 games I’ve attended so far this season, starting with:
Home Runs

Name Total
Andrew Benintendi 4
Lenyn Sosa 3
Andrew Vaughn 2
Miguel Vargas 2
Jake Meyers 2
Dansby Swanson 2
Mike Tauchman 2
Kyle Manzardo 2
Austin Slater 2

Hits

Name Total
Andrew Benintendi 18
Lenyn Sosa 18
Chase Meidroth 16
Luis Robert 15
Miguel Vargas 14

Runs

Name Total
Chase Meidroth 12
Andrew Benintendi 10
Continue reading →
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A Change Will Do You Good

In a move that was expected after last week’s Kyle Tucker trade, the Cubs have sent Cody Bellinger, along with cash considerations, to the Yankees.  In exchange, they receive Cody Poteet, a 30-year-old relief pitcher with 24 career major league appearances.

Bellinger, a former MVP, is owed $52.5 million over the next two seasons, with the Cubs will be sending $5 million to help cover that cost. He hit .286 with 44 home runs and 175 RBIs in his two seasons on the north side.  When he suits up for the Yankees, he, and his father Clay, will become the fourth father/son duo to play for the team, joining Mark Leiter and Mark Leiter Jr., Ron and Ike Davis, and Yogi and Dale Berra.

This is a salary dump, pure and simple.  What, if anything, the Cubs do with that money will determine if this trade is a winner or a loser.

Bellinger’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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Making A Move

Looking to make a splash of their own, the Cubs acquired outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros in exchange for Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, and Cam Smith.  Tucker, 27, is a three-time All-Star and has averaged over 5 WAR over the past four seasons.  He is in his final year of arbitration and will become a free agent after the season.

The price for this single season of Tucker is fairly steep.  Paredes, reacquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline last summer, was penciled in as the starting third baseman and was under cheap team control through 2027.  Wesneski split time between the bullpen and the rotation last year and was a useful piece.  Smith was the team’s 2024 first round draft choice and is the 73rd ranked prospect in baseball.

Given Tucker’s contract situation, this looks like a win-now move for a team that has been mired in mediocracy since tearing down the remnants of their championship roster in 2021.  The next steps would seem to be moving on from Cody Bellinger to free up salary.  What happens after that is anyone’s guess at this point.

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2021 Final Batting Leaders

Another baseball season has come to an end, with the White Sox winning their first division title since 2008 and making the post-season in consecutive seasons for the first time in team history, before losing to the Astros in the ALDS and the Cubs shocking their fanbase with the dismantling of the core that led them to 3 straight NLCSs and a world championship in 2016.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 58 games that I attended this season, with lower capacity crowds in the spring to full capacity at the end:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 9
Yasmani Grandal 8
Patrick Wisdom 7
Luis Robert 6
Yoan Moncada 5
Tim Anderson 5

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 55
Jose Abreu 49
Yoan Moncada 49
Luis Robert 29
Andrew Vaughn 26

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 32
Yoan Moncada 27
Continue reading →