Chicago Cubs: Kris Bryant and the Lucky Ripped Pants?

Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant had a historic night on Monday, hitting three home runs in a 5-for-5 performance. Did his ripped pants play a role in the huge game?

Kris Bryant had himself a huge night on Monday. The 24-year-old Chicago Cubs third baseman went 5-for-5 on the night. He hit three home runs and two doubles against the Cincinnati Reds.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Bryant became the first player in major league history with three home runs and two doubles in a game. He is the third player ever to have five extra base hits in a single game. He joins Josh Hamilton (2012) and Joe Adcock (1954) to do so. Hamilton and Adcock hit four homers and a double each.

Bryant’s 16 total bases broke the Cubs’ single-game record. He also became the youngest Cub to hit three home runs in a game, besting Ernie Banks.

While he does not see himself as a superstitious person, Bryant (and his teammates) do believe there was a reason that he had the historic night he did:

"“I’ve never been the superstitious type, but everybody in the dugout was saying, ‘It’s the hole in the pants,'” he said. “I’m going to wear those until they’re done.”"

As a kid growing up in the 90s and enjoying cartoons, this was the first thing that came to my mind when Bryant talked about his ripped pants:

(Spongebob Ripped Pants song Video from SpongeCraze on Vimeo.)

Bryant is only seven days older than the author of this article, so he is likely fully aware of the SpongeBob episode this is from. It is a classic episode from a show that was a cartoon many kids in the 90s loved to tune into.

Unfortunately for Bryant, those ripped pants are not going to be making an encore. As Bryant explained to the Chicago Tribune, the pants smell bad and he may not even be allowed to wear ripped pants anyways:

"“They’re here (in the locker). They just smell very bad because I was in the middle of the postgame celebration.They’re kind of ruined and I don’t want to go out there smelling too bad,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t wear them. Besides, they’re ripped. I don’t know if I’m allowed to wear them.”"

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It is likely a good thing Bryant is not superstitious, as his good luck charm is going to have a very brief shelf life.

Bryant is 3-for-10 with two walks since losing that good luck charm. He has been held without an extra base hit in the two games since his pants went down as a national hero.

On the season, Bryant owns a .280/.372/.560 slash line with a 146 wRC+. He owns a 4.0 fWAR in 75 games this season, after posting a 6.5 fWAR season in 151 games in his rookie campaign in 2015.

Bryant already has 21 home runs on the season and ZiPS projects him to hit 17 more the rest of the season, giving him a shot at reaching 40 in just his second season.

ZiPS projects a .268/.365/.505 slash line the rest of the season with a 138 wRC+. That is good for a 3.0 fWAR the rest of the season, bringing him to a seven-win season in his second big league year.

Bryant has established himself as a star player, playing on the best team in the major leagues. He does not need his ripped pants to help him shred major league pitching.

Next: Bryant makes history in Cubs win

That is likely good news for his teammates, as they won’t have to deal with Bryant and his smelly pants the rest of the season.