Alex Bregman Is LEADING a Cubs Culture Change With Pete Crow-Armstrong!

A little bit of a shift in a clubhouse, like I said earlier, but usually this time of year,

when it's spring training, it's typically it's more relaxed, like, especially early in spring

training, they're still kind of getting themselves back into the routine, back into the rhythm.

And so a lot of times when you talk to guys this time of year, there's just not the same

tenor to their responses or to their attitudes as you're going to see in July,

August, September or something like that. So a lot of times in in Mesa, it's just sort of,

I don't know, relaxed is the best word I can think of. And there, but there, there's a little bit

of a tinge of a difference there. Now I'll say this, like, you know, I walked in there today,

and so, you know, I'll be back in tomorrow and in the next few days after that and get a chance

to talk to even more guys, but I am getting sort of a almost palpable sense that there's a difference

of that clubhouse. Yeah, I mean, I, I asked, you know, I, I can maybe like, willing it to be,

but I, it isn't interesting, especially as you bring up, like, you know, last year and ramping

up for the WBC, there are like, feels like there's a few like, um, converging things that, you know,

are going to contribute to that. Like, you have guys preparing for the WBC that we know can be a very

like charged environment guys, very prideful representing their country. And we've seen those

gains, like the, the energy and the enthusiasm in the few tournaments we've seen pretty,

pretty high when you see that you have some guys coming into contract years. And then, you know,

we even talked about it when the offseason was getting going, like, it's hard to measure how

you would see this, but you would think that getting falling behind in the division and they're

getting knocked out by your division rival would, you know, ramp up the sort of like, all right,

you know, we're having fun and we feel like we're going to be a good team, but there is serious

business to be taken care of here. And so like, it does feel like just from an outside fans perspective,

all of that coming together, especially when you throw in another baseball rat, as Brendan

always likes to say, in Alex Breggman, I'm not surprised to hear that answer from you. I guess

his, it's a long-winded way of saying like it, it tracks with kind of just what's going on in

their schedule, their careers, and where this team is at. It feels like a perfect storm for some

of that stuff for this to kind of be a season where, you know, they're celebrating 150 years,

they're celebrating the 2016 team, but a good portion of this group is possibly unsure where

they're playing next year and they've got some unfinished business. So I'm glad to hear it and

I'm not surprised to hear it as well. And I think, you know, to your point about Breggman, I think

there is a, there's a significant difference in the intangibles as far as what a guy like Breggman

brings to your clubhouse compared to a guy like Kyle Tucker last year. Kyle Tucker loaded with talent,

very much carried the team in the first half, injuries hampered him in the second half. I think

there's also be a lot different if he was healthy, but the way that the other guys have responded

to Breggman is something that I did not see with Kyle Tucker a year ago. There is a, there is a,

a, they're almost tangible difference. And so Breggman, I think there's a, not that these guys need it,

but like a level of veteran leadership that, you know, Kyle Tucker, just because of his personality,

the way he's wired, he just isn't that guy. But Breggman very much is. And so I think you're going

to see a difference in like, maybe there are offensive production is, is more or less the same

between the two of them. But I think the big difference you're going to see is what in what Breggman

does for that clubhouse. And again, a clubhouse that's already absolutely stacked with veterans,

absolutely stacked with guys that are baseball rats. And you throw with somebody like Breggman into

that mix. I think it's just, I, that's something to watch this season for sure. Yeah, I was listening,

I mean, P Chrome, Strong's been doing a media blitz. I feel like for the past week and a half. So

he's been on podcasts, been on basketball. Is he said anything? No, where are they? I know, right?

He's been, I haven't seen this. I haven't seen anything either. He's a big, he's a big, he's a big

LA guy, as we know. But he has been just unpromptu talking about the effect of Alex Breggman,

discussing swing decisions as the main driver of what he's noticing for wanting to improve for

himself. He's talking about how Alex Breggman discusses certain scenarios. Like, hey, if you're

looking for a first pitch breaking ball, are you still swinging at it even if it looks good? Like

stuff like that. And so peace describing the process as shifting because of bringing in a

different player outside the organization. You gave John Malley his kudos, he gave Dustin Kelly,

his kudos and their process. But he does discuss the addition of the hitting philosophy that Breggman

brings in that wasn't in the organization last year. So when I talk about clubhouse leadership,

I'm more so in my mind, thinking about the effect of other guys changing and adapting in their

actual value output. So I'm very fast and to see what Pete looks like in the first few weeks,

if we see any different swing decisions, I'm also interested in seeing how that manifests in older

guys who have been around the corner like Danzby Swanson, he was talking about the effect of Alex

Breggman and MLB network. It's very fun to see someone have such a large impact. And it's not

to pounce on Kyle Tucker. And I know some folks may interpret your words as a dig and they're,

it's not it. It's not a dig. It's just the uniqueness of Alex Breggman. There's not many players

in the league that demands their respect that Breggman gets because of the clubhouse culture. The

guy started his own baseball facility in Arizona that other guys go and work out him. Like he's a

unique guy because he has that type of respect. Well, and before you jump in on that year,

I do just want to say you mentioned the the foul territory interviews that the guys were doing.

I love that Breggman said that Danzby is routinely reminding him that he was drafted

number one ahead of him and that they won the national championship. I just love that. It's one

of those things that they wondered when they were in the same clubhouse. And he was like, oh yeah,

he's he's reminding me all the time that I went number one and you did that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.