Column: Cubs star Alex Bregman proves his toughness, while Bears QB Caleb Williams shouldn’t have to defend his
· Yahoo Sports
Standing in the hallway outside the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, a couple of reporters spotted Alex Bregman heading toward the batting cages wearing a batting helmet.
Wait, what?
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Wasn’t this the guy who was hit in the face with a foul ball Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati, suffering multiple facial fractures in his left cheek? The guy who Instagrammed a photo of himself afterward with blood on his face and a plug in his nose, making him look like the unsuspecting victim in a Zach Cregger horror movie?
Yeah, it was that same Alex Bregman, who was heading to track pitches on a Trajekt machine and get ready for a possible comeback in this final week of the regular season. Instead of the expected IL stint and prayers for a speedy recovery, Bregman was back on track to return to the Cubs lineup, perhaps even in a matter of days.
“We weren’t hitting balls off his head or anything,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s just creating game-like (conditions), tracking on the Trajekt, essentially.”
On a night when the Cubs could clinch their second straight postseason berth with a win over the Miami Marlins, and when Pete Crow-Armstrong was two stolen bases shy of becoming the seventh player in history to record a 40-40 season, and when baseball was discussing contingency plans in case next weekend’s season-ending series in Boston gets wiped out by a Nor’easter, Bregman’s amazing comeback was the dominant topic of conversation.
“He’s completely himself, he’s talking s−−−,” Counsell said. “That part is a good sign, for sure.”
Chicago loves its tough guys. From Mike Ditka to Dick Butkus, and from Dennis Rodman to Kyle Schwarber, it’s probably the most admirable trait one can have.
Bregman is just the latest example.
“Real toughness,” President Jed Hoyer said. “He doesn’t look great, that’s for sure. But no one loves to play more than him, and I can say that with no equivocation. I’ve never met a player who loves baseball as much as he does. He wants to play all the time. And right away, when we first hear from him afterward that he was going to find a way to do it …
“There were scenarios where there was no way it was going to happen, if he needed surgery. And he didn’t, and it gives us a chance to get out there. Yeah, it’s impressive.”
In a bizarre coincidence, Bregman and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams were injured around the same time on Sunday, with Williams going down with a hamstring injury in the Bears’ 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
It was a double punch to the jaw of Chicago sports fans — the old “Poom-Poom,” as Joe Maddon once referred to back-to-back home runs off closer Craig Kimbrel.
Bears fans were relieved to learn that Williams’ injury wasn’t as severe as it looked, as coach Ben Johnson labeled him “week-to-week” and wouldn’t rule him out of next Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, as impossible as that sounds.
“Here’s what I know: This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being,” Johnson said. “I said that (Sunday) night, I’ll double down on that. He gets back — he has in the past — a lot faster than what people can anticipate, so I’m not putting a timeline on this.”
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To Williams’ chagrin, the fact that the Bears refused to rule him out sent him smack dab into the middle of the hot take industrial complex, where everyone with a microphone or an internet connection chimed in with a hot take on his alleged softness, exacerbated by his pained reaction and thumbs-up gesture as he left the field on a cart.
The Caleb Williams meme-makers were working overtime, showing a photo or video of Williams leaving with captions like “Stubbed my toe” or “Stepped on a LEGO.”
Barstool Sports founder and part-time MAGA propagandist Dave Portnoy called him a “thespian” for his pained reaction to the injury.
“The man tweaked his hammy and acted like both ACLs, MCLs and everything else … he tweaked his hammy,” Portnoy said. “What are we doing here?”
Williams then shared a social media post from someone clapping back at Portnoy over an incident from last year in which a student threw pennies at him. Portnoy, never one to miss out on some free pub, responded to Williams’ response with a denial of the post, and the story only became more inflamed.
It would probably be best for Williams to ignore the criticism, especially from professional social media trolls like Portnoy. But that’s not his nature, and certainly he has a history of toughness in his college and pro careers to back him up. This is also a guy who is strong enough to paint his fingernails and let the rest of the manosphere go crazy over it. He’s truly a man comfortable in his own skin, an admirable trait in this day and age of testosterone-fueled athletes afraid to rock the boat.
Hoyer, a Bears fan from his 15 years living in Chicago, laughed at the suggestion that Williams was soft.
“It’s kind of a ridiculous thing to talk about,” Hoyer said, pointing to the fact that the NFL season right now is basically like the baseball season in mid-April, suggesting there is no good reason for Williams to rush back to prove his toughness.
Bears fans have sprung to Williams’ defense, and I’m sure when Halas Hall opens to the media on Wednesday, a line of teammates will be willing to offer their own opinions on his alleged lack of toughness.
Everyone is a tough guy when they know they’ll never have to face the person they’re accusing of not being tough enough.
Unfortunately, the hot take industrial complex is never going to get smaller, so better get used to it, Caleb.