The Colorado Rockies are on track for the worst season in MLB history. Kris Bryant is currently on the 60-day IL, suffering through degenerative disc disease in his lower back. At 33, he's in the middle of an unwieldy long-term contract and years removed from his MVP heights with the Chicago Cubs. It has been a swift, brutal fall from grace for the four-time All-Star and 2016 World Series champ.
And yet, despite his perceived failures on the baseball diamond, Bryant is as centered and content as ever. It all goes back to his time with the Cubs. Anthony Iapoce, now the first base coach for the Detroit Tigers, joined Chicago's staff in 2013 — when Bryant arrived as the second overall pick and future face of the franchise.
In a recent article from The Athletic, Bryant is reflecting upon his time with Iapoce, who taught him a lot about how to handle success and failure, and most importantly, how to contextualize the natural peaks and valleys of a big-league career.
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Former Cubs assistant Anthony Iapoce taught Kris Bryant how to deal with fall from grace
"At times it’s really hard, because I’ve built up a career and a lot of successes, but a lot of failures, too,” Bryant told The Athletic's Tyler Kepner. “You kind of have to think back to when you were a kid playing in the cul-de-sac. If you told yourself you’re gonna be in this position — 10 years in the big leagues, tons of awards, a lot of good times — it’s gonna be OK. Your struggles, your injuries, your expectations, your failures, all that’s part of the journey, and it’s all worth it in the end."
Bryant's early success is well documented. Just three years after being drafted, he won NL MVP and led Chicago to the World Series. He won Rookie of the Year the season prior. As soon as he hit the big leagues, Bryant took off like a rocket. He was a ticket to MLB history for generations of Cubs fans.
Today, Bryant could not be at a more difficult juncture of his career. This back injury is an ongoing battle, the sort that could derail his career permanently. The Rockies aren't going to compete in the playoffs any time soon. For a player who reached the mountaintop less than a decade ago, it can't be easy to sit alone in the basement.
How Bryant rediscovered perspective
That said, Iapoce's guidance did a world of good for Bryant. The former Cubs assistant has built his reputation around shepherding players through the intense emotional pitfalls of a professional baseball career.
"After the beginning or middle of (a biography), I’m good because I already know the rest of the story,” Iapoce told The Athletic. “I want to know where did it start and how did they get there."
That unique perspective on life — and baseball — has clearly rubbed off on Bryant, who has learned to appreciate the successes along with the failures, reflecting on the entire arc of his baseball-playing life, rather than getting bogged down in the disappointments of the present. We could all learn a thing or two from Iapoce, it seems.