Can Schwarber go from legend of the fall to early riser for Cubs?

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Kyle Schwarber singles in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series against the Indians in Cleveland. | Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

MESA, Ariz. — After 103 wins and a World Series title last year, the Cubs like their chances of becoming even more formidable in 2017. And one of the reasons boils down to the most improbable fact in all of sports:

Kyle Schwarber has twice as many lifetime big-league plate appearances in November as he does in April and May combined.

Let that sink in for a minute. Read it again if you have to.

That’s not fake news. That’s the Legend of Kyle Schwarber — a two-time postseason hero who has earned a place in World Series history and national adulation before recording a hit before June.

“Yeah, he’s got to prove to us he can do it at the start of the season,” MVP Kris Bryant said with a laugh. “It’s crazy that he’s played more postseason games than probably [games in] April and May combined.”

April, May and June combined, in fact.

And so, the Cubs’ front office, manager Joe Maddon and Schwarber’s teammates are all intrigued by how he will handle a full season and what it might produce.

It was, of course, the season-ending knee injury Schwarber suffered in the third game of 2016 that created this aberrant career path. His rehab timeline was supposed to rule him out for the postseason as well, until his work paid off with last-minute medical clearance to hit as the Cubs’ designated hitter in the four World Series games in Cleveland.

Now that he’s healthy for full duty again, the Cubs have him penciled in for about 140 starts in left field and at the top of the batting order.

Even Schwarber wonders what that might mean for his numbers by the end of the season. And he wonders at least a little bit what six (or seven) months of a big-league load will feel like.

“Definitely,” said Schwarber, who debuted for a week in June in 2015 before returning after the All-Star break for good. “There’s definitely something to be said about experience, especially getting into those grind days, after playing the first half of the season, when you’re getting into August and you’ve got to start taking care of your body. I’m not going to change the way I approach the game. I’m just looking forward to seeing what can happen.”

The Cubs and their legions of fans figure they’ve already had a glimpse of what can happen. Schwarber has 16 homers and a .353 on-base percentage in 71 career regular-season games, along with a pair of postseasons that put him in the Cubs record books — and in elite historical company overall. His 1.178 OPS in 14 postseason games ranks third all-time for a player with at least 50 plate appearances, behind only Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (both 1.214).

He was 7-for-17 with three walks in the four World Series games — including three hits in Game  7 — after going 29 weeks without seeing a big-league pitch. When he doubled off Indians ace Corey Kluber in Game 1, he became the first non-pitcher to get a hit in a World Series after a hitless regular season.

“Man, I don’t know what type of mindset you have to have to be able to sit out for six months and play your first game in six months in the World Series in Cleveland, against Corey Kluber, one of the best pitchers — I mean, it’s crazy,” Bryant said. “I probably couldn’t do it.”

The mindset involved Schwarber taking all the swings he was allowed in two Arizona Fall League games and the batting cage, then standing next to a plate and tracking thousands more fastballs and breaking balls off a pitching machine over those two days.

“He’s a unique talent,” Maddon said.

The Cubs value Schwarber’s bat and long-term presence enough that they plan to schedule precautionary days off throughout the season, even if Schwarber might be stronger than before the injury because of all the rehab work.

Bryant noted that Schwarber also spent a lot of time breaking down pitchers in the video room and staying involved in meetings all through last season, which might give him an edge in making quicker adjustments to guys he hasn’t yet faced.

And then there’s what he has done against the best of the best in the postseason the last two years.

“To me, it’s a really exciting element of this season,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “We joked about it last year, that it was like, ‘Hey, a great free-agent acquisition for [2017].’

“It’s exciting to get him out on the field, and just get him as many at-bats as possible. He’s never gone through a full major-league season of play, and that’s a good challenge for him. But if there’s one thing about Kyle, it’s that this guy loves challenges, as he showed with his rehab last year.”

Said Schwarber: “I’m excited. It’s going to be a grind. And I see myself as a grinder. I’m going to embrace it.”

Follow me on Twitter @GDubCub.

Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com

LEGEND OF SCHWARBER

All-time postseason OPS leaders (min. 50 plate appearances):

    OPS               G       PA      BA    HR

Babe Ruth    1.214   41  167  .326  15

Lou Gehrig    1.214             34  150  .361  10

Kyle Schwarber          1.178             14  51      .364  5

WHO NEEDS APRIL AND MAY?

Kyle Schwarber’s career postseason stats vs. his career numbers in April, May and June combined:

  Post  A/M/J

Games  14            8

Plate App.  51           28

Hits  16             8

Home runs  5               1

RBIs  10            6

BBs  7              2

Avg.  .364      .308

OBP  .451      .357

Slug%  .727      .500

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