Which Cubs Player Should Get the Documentary Treatment? Walk-Off Balk, Schwarber’s AB, and Other Cubs Bullets

May 18, 2020, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs

There is a Mario world on ‘Minecraft’ on the Switch, and The Little Boy is super into it at the moment. Fine. Good. But the music is the music from ‘Super Mario 64,’ the greatest video game of all-time. And it’s killing me that I can’t just, like, play it right now. Why is there not a port for the Switch? Like, shouldn’t I just be able to download it or some shit and play? It’s 2020!

(Yes, I know they just announced a new Paper Mario, and also there are some stray, thinly-sourced reports out there that a version is coming this year, but I feel like I’ve seen those before. GIMME MY REMASTERED SUPER MARIO 64 FOR THE SWITCH!)

• ‘The Last Dance’ is now over – it was so dang good – and I can’t wait to see the Sosa-McGwire doc in a few weeks (though I know it’s not quite the same thing). I saw this question on Twitter:

If there was another 10-episode bio series on another sports figure, who would you choose?
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 18, 2020

• I could make jokes, but actually the Cubs have several current players who’ve gone through some incredible stuff in their lives – Jon Lester, Yu Darvish, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Báez, among them. None will necessarily rise to the level of having a 10-part documentary produced about a section of their lives, but there is really some interesting, challenging stuff. Let’s get some more of those documentaries from Cubs Productions, eh?

• Historically, I could see plenty of grist for an Ernie Banks doc, a Ron Santo doc, a Sammy Sosa doc, and a Harry Caray doc, among others.

• I mentioned here yesterday that it was the first anniversary of Kris Bryant homering in three straight innings, but that game against the Nationals also featured this true beauty:

One year ago today, Kyle Schwarber battled through THIRTEEN PITCHES and wound up with a dinger. pic.twitter.com/bcU9tYUhuz
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 17, 2020

• I would never say a guy SHOULD hit a home run, but I would say that if you go back to that same well again and again and again as a pitcher (even changing speeds), at some point you’ve gotta expect that the batter is going to crush one.

• Even though the night was Bryant’s, I enjoyed going back to the writeup at Cubs.com from that game, and seeing that Bryant had some high complimentary thoughts on the Schwarber at bat: “I think that was one of the best at-bats I’ve ever seen in person. I was right there on deck, so maybe I’m a little biased, but I thought that was the best I’ve ever seen. He was just battling, fouling off tough pitches, changeup after changeup, and then he gets a fastball and hits it the other way. He’d probably say it was one of the best at-bats of his life.”

• Emotional anniversary:

https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee/status/1262375888437600256

• Javy Báez content, specifically his work at the plate:

The heartbeat of the @Cubs. @MarkDeRo7 breaks down El Mago at the Skybox.

For more tips, drills and breakdowns, head to https://t.co/LB5q9Jj3bG! pic.twitter.com/gSkgtAHDmQ
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 17, 2020

• Our Lotte Giants lost a rough one … with a walk-off balk:

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1262009168673804291

• Balks, man. There are a lot of different ways to commit them, but I could only definitively tell you one or two precisely. Otherwise, it’s just a mess of “huh, you know, that didn’t really look legal.” Pretty sure that’s what happened to the umps on that one, too. Something about it just didn’t look quite right …

• Wonder if anyone on Lotte grabbed a trash can after that game: