Alex Bregman’s Perseverance Through a Challenging Season

PHOENIX – In mid-May, Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman contacted manager Craig Counsell during a tough period in his season. Bregman had been hesitant to swing at pitches early in the season due to his struggles and wanted to share his thought process with Counsell.

“When I don’t feel good, I swing less because I know it’s not right,” Bregman explained. “As soon as I load, I know that it’s not right, so it’s not going to be good if I swing because I’m not going to swing-and-miss, I’m going to put the ball in play. I need to get right mechanically, and when I get right mechanically, it’ll go.”

Bregman’s mechanical issues were apparent from the start of the season. He knew he needed to pinpoint the problem to improve. His exchange with Counsell revolved around whether Bregman should be more aggressive early in the count to boost his slugging, which he believed wasn’t the best approach.

Counsell noted, “It was very clear and laid out, and it made sense to me that this is how he’s going to get better and is going to fix it. He didn’t tell you exactly when it’s going to happen, but how he was going to go about it.”

The results followed in July when Bregman achieved a season-high .263 average and .825 OPS. Since July 27, he leads the MLB in hits and RBIs, ranks second in slugging and home runs, and third in OPS. In August, Bregman hit .296 with a .370 on-base percentage and .972 OPS.

Reflecting on the year’s start, Bregman shared, “The start of the year was super frustrating because I don’t feel like this is a hot stretch; I feel like this is who I am as a baseball player. I’m trying to get this right for the long haul in my career, which takes off the need to hit a grand slam every at-bat to get your season back.”

Bregman relies on his internal cues about his mechanics, a habit stemming from his prep career in New Mexico, college days at LSU, professional stints with the Houston Astros, and then the Boston Red Sox.

“I’ve always thought mechanics every single day in the box — most people don’t,” Bregman stated. “Normally, I get one mechanical thought and take that into the game.”

Despite hardships, Bregman’s consistency in his process remained firm. Counsell and the Cubs learned about Bregman’s determination to restore his swing and offensive output. Counsell remarked, “Alex was very consistent, really, in the way he talked about it. I give him a lot of credit for this. He was relentless in his work to get there. It never wavered, and it was really interesting.”