Cubs’ Albert Almora Jr. looks ready for impact role

MESA, Ariz. — The play that November night was like the player himself: easily overlooked in the din and celebration of the bigger names and the bigger picture.

But if Albert Almora Jr. doesn’t decide on his own to tag and take second base on Kris Bryant’s deep fly to center in the top of the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series, the whole complexion of that two-run inning — and possibly the outcome of the Series — changes.

“That ended up being a really critical play,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said of the surprising chance that Almora, a pinch-running rookie, took just ahead of an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo. “Because that walk ended up scoring.”

And the Cubs held on to win by that one-run margin.

Because World Series MVP Ben Zobrist had the big go-ahead double, and because the story was about 10 innings of emotional whiplash, a rain-delay players meeting and 108 years of thirst finally quenched, Almora’s heady play tends to get lost. But those five seconds are a glimpse into why many believe he will be the next touted position prospect to become an impact performer in the Cubs’ lineup.

Almora, the first player drafted by team president Theo Epstein’s front office in 2012, already is a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder — Bryant calls him the best he has seen — and has a line-drive hitting ability that led to a .277 debut season with 13 extra-base hits in his 47 games.

What sets him apart is a gym-rat sense for the game. He has a confidence and mature-for-his-age grasp that former Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken identified in the years leading up to Almora being drafted.

For example, he more than once surprised a runner rounding second on a hit by throwing behind him for an out, Wilken said. On Monday, in a spring game against the Colorado Rockies, he singled and then stole second and third in quick succession against Tyler Anderson, a left-hander with a high leg kick whom Almora had faced in one game in Class AAA last year.

And there was the mother of examples in the 10th inning of Game  7 of the World Series — after just 13 weeks of major-league seasoning.

“I’m just ballsy,” Almora said. “I don’t get scared too much. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But that’s just how I am.

“I knew in that situation [in the Series], my job was to be on second base, either get there and be a hero or get thrown out and everybody hates me. But my instincts there were to go and to try to make it.”

The instincts are what make Almora one of the more exciting young Cubs — in a Javy Baez mold but without the flash.

Veteran outfielder Jon Jay, signed over the winter to help Almora’s transition in center by sharing the job at least early this season, has known Almora for years, going back to their shared Miami roots.

“Maybe he picked that up growing up in Miami, where baseball’s really serious,” Jay said of the critical World Series play. “We’re always talking fundamentals of the game and just doing the little things right. Everything is so competitive. That’s what I saw out of that play. I said, ‘Man, he probably did that in high school or when he was 13 years old or something like that.’ ”

Manager Joe Maddon sees a greater confidence in Almora this spring, and even a gradually increasing power at the plate.

“He kind of established himself to himself as being a major-league player,” Maddon said. “Right now he just needs an opportunity. He looks good, offensively and defensively.”

And because of one day of service time, he might have missed the opportunity to make history.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Almora’s 45 days on the 25-man roster last years precludes him from being considered a rookie this season by one day, despite some websites that still list him as a rookie.

Only two players have ever played in a World Series one year and won a Rookie of the Year award the next: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Steve Sax in 1981 and ’82 and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Todd Worrell in 1985 and ’86.

Even if he can’t put himself into the Rookie of the Year race, he can position himself to be the Cubs’ next young impact player if he can gain the lion’s share of playing time in center field by the end of the year.

“I’m here to help the team win. It’s not about me,” Almora said. “This isn’t the Chicago Almoras. This is the Chicago Cubs, and I’m just here to help however I can.

“It’s real simple for me. It’s just help the team win — like it was last year, and last year I got my chance in that moment, and I did something. It’s just be ready at all times.”

Follow me on Twitter @GDubCub.

Email: gwittnemyer@suntimes.com