It’s entirely possible that this kind of thing has been going on for the last couple years involving dozens of players and we simply didn’t hear much about it. Now that the spotlight is shining on big-time prospect Jorge Soler, fresh off a bat-wielding-induced suspension, we’re going to hear about it.
Which is all a preamble to say that Jorge Soler was benched yesterday by his manager at Daytona because the 21-year-old outfielder didn’t show enough effort in the previous game. You can read about it in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“(Soler) sat (Sunday) because within the philosophy and the work ethic that we are trying to create in this organization – and that we are trying to get our players to understand – work ethic, energy, determination, playing hard and running hard is part of the whole program,” Daytona manager Dave Keller told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “When you don’t do that, then you don’t get to play. That’s something that has really been emphasized over the last two years …. As a coaching staff we’re required to stay on top of it. And we’re doing it because work habits create the player, period. When you work, you get better.”
Keller is clearly talking about an aspect of The Cubs Way, a formal philosophical shift in the Cubs’ organization from top to bottom, where players are taught a number of very specific things about playing the game of baseball.
While I don’t necessarily want to single Soler out – all indications are that he’s a nice young man, and a great baseball talent – I think this is an incredibly positive sign. He won’t forget this, and neither will his teammates. It’s so important to drill certain things into players while they are still developing, and it’s great to see tangible evidence that the Cubs are doing this.