The Cubs will visit the Pirates on Wednesday in the NL Wild Card Game, but if they had dominant rookie Kris Bryant for the full season, things could have been different.
Chicago (97-65) finished one game below Pittsburgh (98-64) this season, meaning that PNC Park will play host to the Wild Card Game for the third straight postseason. As the Astros proved to the Yankees on Tuesday, home-field advantage isn't everything, but the question over whether the Cubs shot themselves in the foot in April bears examining.
Kris Bryant Headlines NL Rookies To Watch This Postseason
Back in the beginning of the season, the Cubs opted to keep Bryant down in the minors for a few games rather than call him up right away, which is a move that could be looked at as the reason behind the club eventually forfeiting home-field advantage. What Chicago's front office did is commonplace in the game these days as the Cubs wanted to keep Bryant under team control for an extra year.
And who could blame them? Bryant has been lights out in his first campaign in the Windy City. Though he led the NL with 199 strikeouts, the third baseman was a force when he made contact. Bryant appears to be a shoo-in for NL Rookie of the Year after leading all first-year players with 99 RBIs and tying for the rookie league lead with 26 homers -- a Cubs rookie record.
Cubs Primed For Deep October Run
The Cubs now have Bryant under team control through 2021 instead of 2020, something that seems worth the risk of losing out on home-field advantage in the Wild Card Game. After all, the Pirates are 1-1 in their last two win-or-go-home games, which includes getting blanked 8-0 by the eventual World Series champion Giants last postseason.
The home club wins just 54 percent of the time in the MLB and Bryant's eventual takeover of third base gave the Cubs six-tenths of a win by virtue of WAR, according to Deadspin.
Though the Cubs may have punted home-field away all the way back in April, they are sending Jake Arrieta and his MLB-best 22 wins to the mound Wednesday at PNC Park, so maybe none of it will matter in the end.
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