The ‘aura' of Kyle Tucker as Cubs try to maximize a unique season

New York Times

4 hours ago

The Chicago Cubs had a nice group of hardworking players and a competent coaching staff to keep everything organized. Between a weak division and an extra wild card, the floor would be playing meaningful September games at Wrigley Field, which draws around 3 million fans annually, regardless of the club's performance. Breaking through that 83-win ceiling, however, required a catalyst.
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Kyle Tucker's production, thus far, can be measured in traditional counting stats such as home runs (12), stolen bases (16) and RBIs (40). By OPS+, he is roughly 60 percent better than the average major-league hitter. His WAR is worth 2.7, according to FanGraphs, with 98 games remaining. It's more than the numbers, though. What his presence means to this particular group is intangible and undeniable.
'There's rah-rah energy,' Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. 'There's intensity, energy. And then there's some guys that being who they are, exudes (their) own aura and confidence.'
Tucker being Tucker gives the Cubs a different energy and some understated swagger. There is no exact formula for clubhouse chemistry, other than winning remains the primary ingredient. But it was clear the Cubs, in recent years, were desperately missing that singular force.
Whether managed by David Ross in 2023 or Craig Counsell last year, the Cubs put together winning months, extended stretches when they looked like a real playoff contender. And when things went wrong, they continued to play with effort and focus, keeping the public griping and finger-pointing to a minimum. By and large, these are earnest players who believe in process, care about their craft and prepare intently. Which is all great, but …
'You got to go out and be a dog at 7 o'clock when the lights are on,' Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon said. 'When you're facing aces, they don't give a s— what kind of work you did before the game. It's about swinging at the right pitch at the right time and having that presence in the box and having that slow heartbeat. There is a little bit of a lesson to be had there for everyone. We got to go out there and do it when the moment matters.'
In what passes as a playoff atmosphere for June, Taillon shut down the American League's best team for seven innings during Saturday's 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Cubs are 40-24 with a clear direction for the July 31 trade deadline — a year after they notched their 40th win on the Fourth of July and then simultaneously executed buy and sell deals.
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Those Cubs could not contain last May's rough patch, which turned into a two-month spiral. The 2023 Cubs could not pull themselves out of a September nosedive, when their 90th percentile playoff odds plunged to zero. Within the clubhouse and the front office, the Cubs acknowledged they needed more star power, someone who could bail out pitchers with a three-run homer, take pressure off other hitters and limit the team's down periods.
Tucker, a low-key personality with a dry sense of humor, makes the 162-game grind a little more manageable. Seiya Suzuki, for example, has cited Tucker as an influence on his more decisive approach. Tucker's red-hot start to the season gave Pete Crow-Armstrong more breathing room to work through his offensive struggles and find what's turning him into an MVP candidate.
clutch, tuck. pic.twitter.com/Hyus6l0K3U
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 7, 2025
Though so many things have gone right for this first-place team, the Cubs have also shut down two All-Star pitchers, cycled through three closers and weathered a brutal opening schedule.
'Especially in our sport, the ability to show up the same way every day is harder than it looks,' Counsell said. 'That's one of the things that Kyle's really good at. We get so many results thrown at us. There's a daily result. There's the in-game, multiple results for hitters. To not let those results kind of skew your preparation or cloud it in any way — guys really respect that. And they admire it. Because it's hard to do. The emotion of failure hurts everybody. It hurts all of us.'
Tucker, though, doesn't seem to let anything bother him, quoting the legendary manager he once had with the Houston Astros: 'Dusty Baker would always say, 'If you're going to show up, you might as well win.''
'We kind of keep that attitude,' Tucker said. 'You don't want to just show up to go through the motions and lose games. We try to come out here and support each other and do what we can to win games for this team and the fans.'
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In terms of preparation, Tucker sort of does his own thing, taking a minimalist approach. During spring training, Counsell told reporters they would rarely see Tucker hitting on the field. Counsell also joked the hitting coaches would love Tucker because he's extremely talented and won't wear them out in the batting cage. At the same time, Tucker quickly added to the team's sense of camaraderie.
'Tuck's always on the music and stuff like that, always interacting on the bus rides and the planes,' Taillon said. 'He's definitely got a very cool confidence to him while not being a cocky, stuck-up dude. There is a little bit of: 'I don't need to take 100 swings when I can take 20 really good ones.''
Tucker's outlook reminds Taillon of a certain All-Star pitcher he used to work with in New York.
'Gerrit Cole was like that,' Taillon said. 'I watched him throw five-pitch bullpens, sometimes, if he accomplished what he wanted: 'That's the feeling I've wanted. I wanted to nail my down-and-away fastball. I'm done. I'm good.' It could be 88 miles an hour. It doesn't matter. There's confidence in knowing what you need and knowing the work you need to do.'
Now there is no wait until next year for the Cubs and Tucker. When a superstar is this close to free agency, and his team is on pace to win around 100 games, the outcomes are never guaranteed. Going big at the trade deadline is the only option. What looks like a magical season needs to be maximized.
Cubs officials demonstrated that sense of urgency when they acquired Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Astros, giving up 14 possible years of club control over Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski for a potential rental player. On some level, then, this season would become a long recruiting presentation. So far, so good.
'In spring training, I kind of started to realize how good of a team that we had collectively,' Tucker said. 'We got a lot more games to see that through. But we've had a really good start, both pitching-wise, defense and offensively. If we can keep those things going, I think we'll be in a good spot at the end of the year.'