Cubs scouting compared Schwarber to Babe Ruth |
The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series since 1908 this past season, and one of the main reasons was the reemergence of young slugger Kyle Schwarber from his devastating ACL injury. Schwarber was discovered by legendary Cubs baseball scout Tom Zielinski who tragically passed away this past winter at the age of 64.
"Squint your eyes and imagine a grainy film of Babe Ruth hitting a ball in the stands at Yankee Stadium," Zielinski wrote in a 2011 report via CSN's Patrick Mooney. "I swear I saw that reenacted today as the ball flew out over the 2nd fence in RF." Schwarber certainly gave Zielinski the finest first impression as he thought of Babe Ruth's ridiculous power. "It felt like I was watching a game through an old, bad whatever-millimeter camera," the scout wrote. "I felt like I was watching Babe Ruth saunter to the plate, call his shot, and then he went on to hit a home run. And then as he trotted around the bases, I felt like I was watching Babe Ruth's trot." Schwarber was in awe that he was compared to such an iconic baseball player. "That's Stan," Schwarber said. "For him to think of me that way, I can't thank him enough, because I felt like he helped me get here. He pushed for me to be a Cub." Say hello to my LITTLE FRIEND. pic.twitter.com/FinXciykBY Obviously, the Ruth comparisons are too much for any one player to live up to but it is impressive that the Cubs have someone with so much elite power at their disposal for several more years. In 2015, Schwarber hit .246 with 16 home runs, 43 RBIs with an excellent .842 OPS in only 69 games (273 at-bats) in his rookie season. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round (4th overall) in the 2014 MLB Draft. Kyle Schwarber home run! #ThatsCub pic.twitter.com/XT5K41gwo3
