As Patrick Wisdom battles through his 1st slump of the season, the Chicago Cubs 3rd baseman remains a cornerstone for David Ross: ‘He’s somebody that I’ve come to trust’
Chicago Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom had 43 games of big-league experience coming into the year.
He didn’t make his season debut for the Cubs until May 25, yet manager David Ross already can count on the 29-year-old former first-round pick. He batted Wisdom fourth Sunday for the third time this season, and he went 1-for-4 in the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“He’s somebody that I’ve come to trust and I like his approach,” Ross said Sunday. “Even when he’s getting out, it seems like a pretty competitive at-bat night in and night out.”
Wisdom said it’s a huge confidence booster to know his manager has that type of belief in him. His play has warranted it. Wisdom’s defense at third has been stellar, while his hot start featured nine home runs in his first 14 starts, helping earn him National League Rookie of the Month honors in June.
He has cooled off since, though, hitting .189 (7-for-37) with three extra-base hits, no walks and 15 strikeouts through 12 games in July.
“You want to be that guy. You look for those moments,” Wisdom told the Tribune. “There was one of the NBA players talking about how greatness isn’t made on the beach or anything. You’ve got to go through the struggles. You’ve got to play through things to find the success and the greatness, and I think that’s really true.
“That is the battle we face is working on your weaknesses but also maintaining your strengths. You’re always adapting and adjusting in this game, and that’s what good hitters do. They’re trying to exploit your weakness, but you’re also trying to exploit (the pitcher’s) weakness. So, it’s a little cat-and-mouse game that we play.”
Pitchers have started exploiting Wisdom up and out of the zone with elevated fastballs. That’s where Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly attacked him in the sixth inning Sunday with the go-ahead run on second base. With an 0-2 count, Wisdom whiffed on a 92 mph cutter at the top of the zone to end the inning.
Wisdom has hit right-handers better than left-handers this season, posting an OPS more than 200 points higher against righties. Some of that is the byproduct of a small sample size. Good matchups versus right-handed starters helps, and Wisdom appreciates how Ross puts him in position to succeed.
“Without giving it away, there’s certain characteristics that I’ve seen that he struggles with versus righties,” Ross said. “There’s other righties that I think are very advantageous to his swing and how he attacks. ... I just try to look at those type of things that I see as a catcher and some of the information, how I would attack pitch characteristics (of) the guy on the mound.
“Wiz is still on track to to have a great season and he’s been a huge lift for us.”
Wisdom’s numbers might look a little better if some calls went his way.
Of his 51 strikeouts, he has been caught looking 14 times. But seven of those were on pitches clearly out of the strike zone with two others borderline strikes. The most egregious came with an opportunity for Wisdom to tack on to the Cubs’ two-run lead June 2 against the San Diego Padres. He got rung up on a pitch that crossed over the left side of the batter’s box.
Sometimes those calls happen in key spots too. Like July 5 against Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Matt Moore with the bases loaded in the first inning of a scoreless game that the Cubs went on to lose to extend their losing streak to 10 games. Or when trying to spark a ninth-inning rally July 3 against Heath Hembree and the Cincinnati Reds with a full-count pitch that resulted in the first out of an eventual one-run loss.
Wisdom, of course, isn’t the only player to be victimized by bad strike calls, but it’s no less frustrating for a player trying to establish himself in the big leagues as they’ve occurred in bunches. He takes some comfort in knowing he’s not swinging at those pitches out of the zone, even when he gets burned for a strikeout.
“Those are really tough because you feel like you see the pitch well,” Wisdom said. “I know I strike out (sometimes), but those pitches that you take, you’re like, yeah, that’s a ball, and then you go back and look and, yeah, it’s a ball, but he’s called a strike and then there’s nothing you can do. It’s not like you can talk him out of it and change it back. So it’s a tough pill to swallow.
“If I throw a hissy fit out there, it’s not going to do anybody any good. I just hope that when we go on defense, we get those calls as well.”
A couple of weeks ago, Wisdom approached Ross, given his big-league catcher background, to ask if he saw anything from Wisdom’s at-bats. The conversation centered on the things that can get into a player’s mind when playing regularly in the majors, something he hasn’t really experienced before this season. Wisdom said the chat was extremely helpful in talking through things and gauging whether what he’s feeling at the plate matches what Ross is seeing from the dugout.
Wisdom wants to do whatever he can to help the Cubs win, even if that means putting ego aside and taking the initiative to reach out to Ross for a different viewpoint.
“The hardest thing to do from a younger player’s perspective is stay true to the same things you’ve done your entire life,” Ross said. “He’s doing a really nice job of staying true to who he’s been since the day he got here.”
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