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What’s Behind the Emergence of the Cubs’ Ian Happ
Playing time and stability help.
Since the 2016 Cubs’ World Series win, the team has undergone massive changes. Most of the stars, including Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez have gone on to other teams. Jon Lester and Ben Zobrist have retired. David Ross is now managing the team as a result of the departure of Joe Maddon. Ian Happ arrived on the Chicago Cubs scene in 2017. Happ immediately showed potential.
In 2017 Happ hit 24 home runs in 384 at bats and put up an OPS of .864. Very impressive. He also played all three outfield positions, as well as second and third base. And defensively, he wasn’t particularly adept at any of them.
Under Maddon’s tenure as Cubs manager, Happ’s playing time was sporadic. Admittedly, Maddon had a bunch of choices in filling out his lineup card, but Happ seemed to consistently get the short end of the stick. I remember seeing Happ hit two home runs in one game and watching him ride the bench the next day.
I wasn’t a fan of Joe Maddon managing
While Maddon will go down in history as the manager who broke the Cubs 108 year championship drought, I will remember him as the guy who never blew the World Series by overmanaging.
