Kris Bryant had a full-blown freakout after surprise lightning strike
Not much seems to scare Kris Bryant, but some thunder scared the bejeezus out of Kris Bryant.
Kris Bryant endured a down year in 2018 as he struggled through a shoulder issue, but that apparently did not shake the 2016 NL MVP: Bryant is back to his old, slugging ways this year, sporting a stellar .287/.395/.539 line for the first-place clubs. There’s more velocity in Major League Baseball than ever before, but a 97-mph fastball is no big thing to a plus hitter like Bryant.
Defensive challenges don’t seem to faze him, either. Few players of his stature can match Bryant for versatility in the field, as the natural third baseman also capably handles semi-regular work in the outfield corners and fill-in duties at first base. Thousands of angry, booing Cardinals fans? No worries.
What, then, could scare Kris Bryant? As it turns out, lightning:
During a weather delay in the fourth inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Braves at Wrigley Field, Bryant got a full-blown case of the willies from a surprise thunderclap. No one else in the Cubs reacted much, but Bryant carried on as though he had been actually struck by the lightning and not merely scared by it.
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But the fear apparently abated as soon as the rain did. Bryant socked his 16th dinger of the year in his first at-bat after the freakout.