Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber says he doesn’t suck

While the Chicago Cubs are amidst spring training, one particular player is attempting to regain the form he had two years ago.

Baseball is back. In less than a month, the Chicago Cubs will take the field for the first time in the 2018 regular season and all will be right with the world yet again.

One thing fans have been tracking all offseason and are looking forward to most is the transformation of Kyle Schwarber. It has been well documented that the 24-year-old decided he needed to make a change after enduring a tough 2017 campaign.

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Schwarber decided it was time he slimmed down and took full control of his health. Over the last few months, he has lost over 20 pounds and has improved his athleticism and strength overall.

Coming into spring training, the difference was overwhelmingly obvious. Schwarber looked like a changed man from top to bottom. His face looked more chiseled, he was obviously wearing a size or two smaller trousers and the fluidity of his swing simply looked even better than it ever has.

The Cubs brought in a new hitting coach, Chili Davis, who knows a thing or two about a down year. He discussed how he came back from a noticeable change one year to the next on one of the most recent episodes of NBC Sports Chicago’s Cubs Talk podcast.

"“I needed to get away from the big league pressure and kind of find myself again. I went home and refocused myself.“Something changed about me the second year … I had a big year [the following season] and my career took off. So I’m telling him, ‘hey, let last year go.'”"

Schwarber appears to be ready to rock and roll in 2018. He has also maintained his sense of humor, because according to Davis, the first thing Schwarber told his new coach forced a bit of a laugh.

"“I don’t suck.”"

I’d say that’s pretty straight forward. It might have come across as somewhat humorous at first, but Davis said that Schwarber was fairly serious about his intentions this year.

"“Last year was just a fluke year. I’ve never failed in my life. I am going to get back to the player I was.”"

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Although he only hit .211 in 2017, Schwarber still cranked out 30 home runs. If he’s truly a better all-around athlete and player in 2018, the sky is the limit for the former Indiana product. His power is still there, so let’s sit back and enjoy what should be a bounce-back season for him.