A Cubs team who's best offensive players include Jason Heyward, Javier Baez, Albert Almora, and Ben Zobrist would usually translate to a disappointing season, assuming guys like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Willson Contreras were not leaders in most offensive categories. But despite Kris Bryant spending time on the disabled list for the second time this season and Anthony Rizzo scuffling through the 1st half, the Cubs own the best record in the National League, lead their division by 1.5 games as of Tuesday afternoon, and are in a position where they control their destiny.
And 37-year-old Ben Zobrist has been as important as anyone on the Cubs roster this season. He leads the club in batting average, on-base percentage, and only Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber walk more than Zobrist - both are club leaders in intentional walks. But after a disappointing 2017 campaign that saw him only play 128 games, all with a questionably healthy wrist, it was assumed that Zobrist would become more of a role player in 2018 and take a back seat to players like Javier Baez, Ian Happ, and Kyle Schwarber in terms of playing time.
But with injuries and his stellar play, Zobrist is currently second on the team in WAR, according to Fangraphs the veteran has a 3.0 WAR on the season - a massive improvement from his 0.3 WAR in 2017. It's not a total surprise that Zobrist is having another great season, he's made a career out of being a consistent player with a versatile skill set, and the Cubs are incredibly thankful that the veteran is back and having a career year.
Currently slashing .311/.395/.462 with 53 scored runs (good for second on the club), and drawing the 4th most walks on the team at 43 as of Tuesday afternoon. Zobrist has just seemed to be in the middle of everything when the Cubs offense is scoring. Since the All-Star break, Zobrist has close to a .500 on-base percentage, scoring 12 of the 25 times he's gotten on base during that span, while also doing the little things like scoring from third on a wild pitch - like he did in Monday night's win against the Royals.
Or starting a 4-run rally off a bunt that would eventually swing momentum for an entire playoff series. Zobrist makes the most of every opportunity, and it's what makes such a favorite in the Cubs clubhouse.
And he's beloved everywhere, including Kansas City, which was apparent Monday night in his first at-bat in Kaufman Stadium since winning a World Series with the Royals.
“You can see why he would ingratiate himself with a fan base,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon to Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star Monday night. “He does it wherever he goes.”
And ingratiate is exactly what Zobrist does in every situation. As long as the veteran is healthy and able, he has been more than willing to help his club in any situation, constantly sliding from 2nd base to left field to right field, even playing 1st base. And Joe Maddon can plug Zobrist in just about any spot of the lineup and be guaranteed an excellent at-bat. Whether that's a productive fly ball that scores a run, a line drive into a gap or pulling a ball into the right-field bleachers, Zobrist's flexibility allows him to flourish in any and all moments of the game.
MLB
At age 37, Ben Zobrist had dipped into the fountain of youth and proven he's more than productive still, despite many ready to write-off the veteran as passed his prime. He just continues to do what's asked of him and produce when his team needs it the most.