What else can I say that hasn’t already been said about MVP front runner Javier Baez? Between his jaw-dropping defense, his sky high baseball IQ, or just his overall offensive statistics, Javier Baez is blossoming before our eyes.
Baez not only reached a personal milestone during today’s game at Philadelphia, but he now stands alone in Cubs history.
In the top of the 6th inning today, Baez took Phillies ace Aaron Nola deep for his 30th home run and 100th RBI of the season during his 500th game played at the MLB level.
MVP pic.twitter.com/19PnYw1Sx1
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) September 2, 2018
With that bomb, Baez joined Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Banks, and Ryne Sandberg as the only Cubs middle infielders to reach the 30 home run plateau. Sandberg was the last to reach that milestone during the 1990 season where he finished with 40 ding dongs. With 26 games left to play, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baez reach the 40 home run plateau either.
While joining three Hall of Famers on a list is always a good thing, Baez made history with his 30th home run today and created an entirely new category that only he occupies.
Javier Báez: first player in #Cubs history with 30 HR, 5 triples, 20 SB & 100 RBI in a season
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) September 2, 2018
The consistency that Baez has shown this year on offense and the value he brings to the team defensively has to put him near the top of the NL MVP discussion during this last month of the season.
It should be a fun last couple of weeks.
