Kris Bryant proves he's actually human

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MILWAUKEE - We now have proof Kris Bryant is an actual human being and not a robot built to play baseball.

No, not because he's currently in a slump at the plate. The way this game is designed, even a robot would slump at some point.

But it was in talking about his slump where Bryant showed his humanity, admitting he actually gets so frustrated sometimes that he's even taken to breaking a bat or two out of eyesight.

Yes, the wholesome, dreamy-eyed kid from Las Vegas who doesn't drink and says words like "gosh" and "heck" and "dang" unironically can actually get...ANGRY.

"Sure, I have my tempter tantrums," Bryant said after going 0-for-4 in Tuesday night's 4-0 Cubs loss to the Brewers. "I go in [the clubhouse] and break a bat or whatever, but I try to do it where no one sees me, but sometimes that's a good thing, too. 

"And then after that, it's all about perspective. We're playing a game for a living. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. Those are the times where you learn the most about yourself and what's important to you.

"Yeah, it stinks not to go out there and get hits, but I'm playing for one of the best franchises in all of sports and looking back at what I've done, I feel pretty proud. That's always what I go back to — it's a game and I've accomplished a lot so far."

Bryant is hitless in his last 16 at-bats and has struck out 28 times in the last 22 games after beginning the year with the best strikeout percentage of his career.

For the first 40 games of the season, it looked as if Bryant had transformed into a high-contact hitter — a heck of a development from the guy that struck out 199 times during his rookie season.

But now, Bryant is in the midst of a valley in a season packed with peaks and valleys. 

Even if his average has still hovered around .300 (he was over the mark as recently as Saturday), Bryant's issues at the plate have been worrisome than simply batting average. 

He hasn't homered since May 14, slugging just .350 in that span despite a .282 average and .357 on-base percentage. He's also driven in just 8 runs and scored 9 in those 115 plate appearances.

"It's OK to slump as hitters," Bryant said. "It's gonna happen. This has been 16 at-bats. Sure, before that, i wasn't feeling great, either. But I mean, I was hitting .300. If I'm complaining about that, then I got big problems.

"But like I said, this is where you learn the most about yourself and what drives you and what you're gonna do. I still have my feelings in my gut before the game and I know that they're there, which is a good thing because I want to go out there and do well.

"The day that those [feelings] aren't there, then I shouldn't be playing. I come in feeling excited every day that there is a chance I can do something that nobody's ever done before and that's what really keeps me going."

Just like Anthony Rizzo before him, Bryant will be fine. These are two of the elite hitters in the game and the "numbers on the back of their baseball card" phrase holds up.

Imagine what the Cubs offense will be like once these two guys get going at the same time.

Bryant is still trying to find ways to helps his team out even if his bat is lagging right now — playing good defense, running the bases well, being a good teammate, working walks, etc.

"He's just been off his game," Joe Maddon said. "I'm certain he's going to be fine. There's some really good hitters this year that have gone through a little bit of a funk. It happens.

"You just stay with the guy and you know that he's good, he's going to come out of it. In the mean time, you just make sure that he's doing OK because he's beating himself up a little bit."

Maddon has had conversations with Bryant, making sure to remind him how good he is, etc. Bryant repeated the refrain about how many good hitters around the MLB have gone through prolonged struggles.

It's the nature of a game, especially with an uptick in velocity and strikeouts around the league and a downturn in hits.

"Today felt great," Bryant said. "I thought I took some borderline pitches. I thought a couple calls went the other way, but just finding a way to swing at the right pitches and trying not to force something.

"It's all about being patient. That's who I am and the last 3-4 games haven't been great, but I think there's a lot of people who would want to be in my shoes. Sometimes, it's all about perspective and how you look at things.

"It's hard when the scoreboard is right in front of your face, but my expectations are really high. That's the greatest and worst thing in the world."

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