My summer of 2017 was spent in Washington D.C. about a ten minute walk away from Nationals Park. I was excited to spend a summer so close to a team that the Cubs would likely have an opportunity to play in the playoffs later that year. The Nationals were characterized by their core of established players Strasburg, Scherzer, Harper and Rendon, but the player I was the most excited to watch was Trea Turner. The shortstop burst onto the scene as in 2016 hitting a scorching .342/.370/.567 over 324 plate appearances. After his impressive rookie season, many looked for Turner…

Jose Abreu signed with the Chicago White Sox during the 2013 off-season for six years and $68 millions dollars. He made an immediate impact. Abreu broke the rookie record for home runs in a month (9) and went on to hit 36 homers and drive in 107. Aside from his disappointing 1.9 WAR performance in 2016, Abreu has been a core piece for a White Sox team that has traded away most of its talent the past two seasons.

I got an opportunity to see Abreu in person when I attended a White Sox, Cubs spring training game at Camelback…

I remember watching Kris Bryant’s major league debut. The Cubs kept him in the minors for an extra week at the beginning of the 2015 season to acquire an additional year of team control, but on April 17, 2015 Bryant made his major league debut. James Shields took the mound for the opposing San Diego Padres and the Cubs eventually lost 5–4. Most Cubs fans don’t remember game’s outcome, but some do remember Kris Bryant’s line in the box score.