Let's not make too big a thing about how big Kris Bryant is.
Wednesday night, it was pretty obvious that someone from the Cubs' infield was heading to the outfield. To left field, probably. But it was a little surprising when the infielder who moved was Bryant, and more surprising that he moved to center field rather than left. Then this happened:
.@KrisBryant_23 will play center field and make plays. What can’t he do? http://t.co/dUWZECV2Rv pic.twitter.com/Vj56foabax
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2015
Meanwhile, a note about Bryant's height:
I suppose it's inevitable that we'll see a huge number of notes comparing Bryant to players his size or bigger. But those comparisons are misleading. For the simple reason that they compare Bryant to players two inches taller . . . while ignoring players one inch shorter.
Look, Bryant's 6'5". You know, give or take. There's no reason for the Cubs or anyone else to lie about this one, but players' listed heights are notoriously imprecise. About the best we can do in terms of meaningful comparisons is look at all the players listed at 6'4" or 6'5" or 6'6".
Now, it's certainly true that we'll not find a large number of players that tall who played third base, or center field. But then again, there haven't been a large number of non-pitchers that tall who played any position.
Of course, baseball players have been getting taller and taller -- yes, aided by all those lies told on the official rosters -- so one of the reasons there weren't many 6'5" third basemen or center fielders before 1980 is there weren't many anybodies that tall before 1980.
So is Bryant's general height really something to worry about?
The list of third basemen -- that is, players who spent at least half their major-league careers at third base -- around 6'5" is not long . . . but that list includes Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Don Demeter, Mike Lowell and Troy Glaus.
The list of center fielders around 6'5" is not long ... but that list includes Matt Kemp, Don Demeter, Dexter Fowler, Drew Stubbs and Rocco Baldelli.
And of course these lists would be significantly longer if we set our bar lower. Miguel Cabrera's 6'4" and played a lot of games at third base. Dale Murphy's 6'4" and almost spent half his career in center field; he did win two MVP awards while playing center field almost exclusively.
There used to be a lot of people who said you couldn't play shortstop unless you were a little guy. Except Cal Ripken was 6'4" and Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Troy Tulowitzki are all 6'3". Not to mention Ian Desmond and Jordy Mercer.
Now, what you won't see on those lists of third basemen and center fielders -- granted, with the notable exception of Scott Rolen -- are outstanding fielders. But is that a function of height, or rather a function of the small populations? I'm going to guess a little of the former and a lot of the latter.
All of which is merely to suggest that while Bryant might be pushed off third base by Starlin Castro, and might be blocked in center field by Dexter Fowler (now) and Billy McKinney (later), there's nothing about his height that says he can't be a perfectly fine major-league third baseman or center fielder. Especially in the short term, before he thickens up as so many men do.
Why does all this matter? Well, options are a wonderful thing for a manager, but perhaps they're most wonderful for the manager who happens to manage Kris Bryant. Here's Phil Rogers, just last week:
Kris Bryant begins his career as a third baseman. He's likely to end it as an outfielder.
But what is really fascinating to consider is this: Could he spend much of it as an almost one-of-a-kind weapon -- a cleanup hitter who is strong enough in the field to move with ease between third base and the corner-outfield spots, allowing manager Joe Maddon tremendous flexibility?
--snip--
Bryant, who was a shortstop for Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, moved between third base, first base and the outfield playing for Hill in San Diego. He was playing center field when Cubs cross-checker Sam Hughes scouted him in a tournament early in 2013.
Actually, Bryant's likely to end his career as a first baseman or a DH. As most 40-year-olds do.
But Rogers' central point, that Bryant could provide some extra value as a versatile defender, seems worth making. That said, there might also be some real value in letting Bryant establish himself at a single position, because he'll presumably save more runs in the long term if he's well-practiced. Ben Zobrists, after all, are rare creatures indeed and rarely found in captivity.
Then again, in the short term the Cubs might win more games with Bryant moving around . . . and there's no reason to worry about his long-term skills at third base if they're planning to move him to the outfield someday anyway.
Kris Bryant is inherently interesting. So is Joe Maddon. We may reasonably hope that Kris Bryant playing for Joe Maddon is one of the Best Things This Year.
