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“The Cubs Got A Good One In Kyle”
The kid who shared his goofy foam cowboy hat was the same kid who hit a home run that Cave said he’d “never forget.”
The home run was hit by Schwarber during his sophomore year at Middletown and came against the defending state champions.
“I swear to you. The ball didn’t go any higher than 20-feet off the ground. It was a frozen rope. It screamed over the right field fence and completely destroyed the passenger side window of one of those old Astro vans. Everyone kind of just sat there in shock.”
Although Schwarber made quite the name for himself at Middletown, he was drawing very little interest from any Division I baseball teams. Cave asked asked Indiana University baseball coach Tracy Smith, who’s wife was from Middletown, to look at the talented catcher who was not being scouted by any colleges before. Smith was shocked when he showed up to the field and didn’t see any other coaches sitting in the stands recruiting Schwarber. Cave knew all Schwarber needed was a chance and that’s exactly what Indiana gave him but more importantly Cave told me,
“IU got a steal when they got Kyle. I can’t say enough about the quality of kid they got when they offered Him.”
Schwarber played three seasons at IU before he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the fourth pick in the 2014 MLB draft. Theo Epstein heard about Schwarber from renowned Cubs scout, Stan Zielinski, and attended a few IU games to see what all the hype was about. The “hype” I’m referring to is the fact that Zielinski compared Schwarber to Babe Ruth in one of his scouting reports.
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I’m not saying that Schwarber is anywhere near Babe Ruth right now but in only two short years, he’s completely changed the look of the Cubs lineup. One guy that is not surprised by Schwarber’s success is Cave.
I asked him what type of guy the Cubs were getting when they drafted Schwarber three years ago and Cave said it beautifully,
“You’re getting a team oriented kid who’s has the team’s goals always ahead of his own. He’s a natural leader who will do anything it takes to help the Cubs win another World Series championship. I can this say this in all honesty– ‘he never ceases to amaze me.’
“If you told him that he’s as loved by Cubs fans as guys like Bryant and Rizzo, he’d be extremely grateful and humbled at that honor. It’s just the way he is.”
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After speaking with Cave I can now see why Theo Epstein fell in love with Kyle Schwarber. The amount of times I heard the words “team oriented” or “team first” during our hour-long conversation easily fell above fifteen times.
Schwarber is a genuine, hard-working guy with a solid Midwest upbringing and a “team first” attitude that has helped turn the Chicago Cubs into the team to beat in the MLB.
After speaking with Coach Cave, I can see where Schwarber gets some of that demeanor from.
*Special thanks to Jason Cave for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to me. It’s much appreciated.
