Chicago Cubs: The pluses and minuses of Kris Bryant batting leadoff
By Bill Felber
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross says third baseman Kris Bryant will be hitting leadoff in 2020. Let’s analyze whether or not this is a good move?
The news out of Chicago Cubs camp that manager David Ross intended to bat Kris Bryant first – and that Bryant was cool with that – prompted the kind of debate that only the end of a long, cold winter can fuel.
Was Ross a mad genius? Had he lost his mind? Would moving Bryant to the number one spot fuel a resurgence on Chicago’s North Side, or merely amount to one more futile gesture on the part of a fading team?
Here’s the real question: In these days of launch angle, does anybody actually care who bats leadoff?
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That didn’t use to be a valid question. There was a time not so long ago when major league teams valued the leadoff spot in the batting order; in fact, they viewed it alongside the three and four slots as cornerstones of an effective lineup.
The fundamental question is what you want a top-of-the-order hitter to do? In the modern game, the practical answer isn’t all that different from what managers demand of any other batting order spot: Produce runs.
Historically, though, the demands on the No. 1 slot were more targeted and more varied. Until about 2010, you wanted a leadoff hitter to possess the ability to get himself into scoring position unaided. That skill had three specific and measurable components:
- On-base average
- Extra base average
- Stolen bases
Find the guy who could do those three things in the greatest percentage of his plate appearances and you’ve got your leadoff hitter.
Assessing the facility of Bryant, or any other player, batting first involves measuring him on those three skills. But first, we need some standards of performance, and that requires a trip back to the days when managers actually emphasized leadoff skills.