It’s unanimous, coaches say: Kris Bryant as humble as it gets

There is the story about him purchasing new uniforms for the baseball team at his old high school and not wanting publicity for it. There is also the one about the guy who reached out via social media to verify the signature on a bat he was about to purchase for several hundred dollars and was told to keep the money and a signed one would arrive in the mail, which it did a few days later.

He signs autographs, poses for pictures, is considered about as unassuming a young major league baseball star as one might hope for but never really believes exists.

"Do you know Wikipedia?" asks Rich Hill, forgetting that posing such a question to a sports writer is like asking Sean Payton if his team's pass defense needs some work. "Look up 'Too good to be true' and there will be Kris, smiling from ear-to-ear in his Cubs hat. He is extremely humble, extremely respectful, as down-to-earth as anyone could be. He is a great teammate, great in the community, hard working, wants to be a great player. You could go on and on and on ..."

Kris Bryant is also this today: National League Rookie of the Year.

Unanimously.

Bryant received all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Monday, meaning those who cover the game closest believe the Bonanza High product and his .275 average and 26 home runs and 99 RBIs far exceeded all other rookie achievements across the National League this season.

Which doesn't for a second surprise those who know Bryant best.

Hill is the head coach at University of San Diego and tutored Bryant for three seasons, including a junior year in 2013 that saw him lead the nation with 31 homers and win the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, both awarded to the country's top collegiate player. But more than numbers and honors, Hill and Bonanza High coach Derek Stafford on Monday spoke about Bryant the person, about the man he is, the humility he exhibits, the individual behind the fame.

"Everything about him is sincere," Stafford said. "He doesn't want any attention for what he does for others. He has put up numbers at every level, every single stop in his career. I'm sure right now he is working hard on goals for next season, maybe things like eliminating strikeouts and hitting .300. But here's the best thing: He is the same guy today as the kid I coached as a teenager. You won't find anyone with a bad thing to say about him."

Bryant on Monday talked about playing this past season with a chip on his shoulder, and you didn't need to think beyond one reason to know why, given the Cubs made the smart but certainly not popular decision to start him in the minors so that they could assure themselves an extra year of his services before he's eligible for free agency.

He played seven games with Triple-A Iowa City before being called up, meaning he stayed long enough to learn about the legend that if you kiss or touch the Black Angel statue in the Oakland Cemetery on Halloween, you'll be struck dead, but not long enough to test it.

"I think it's good to play with that chip," Bryant said. "Certain things are going to define you as a player. In high school I got labeled by some as not caring because I looked so relaxed playing. That couldn't be further from the truth. Right now, I'm just enjoying the award we won and the season we had."

The award we won.

The season we had.

"Twenty years from now, you're not going to remember how many home runs you might have hit in a season or a batting average," Bryant continued. "You're going to remember the championships you won and the friendships you gained by winning them. I try to be as unselfish as I can be and make it all about the team. If you do that, good things happen for you as an individual."

They did Monday, and there wasn't a better video clip making its way around Twitter than one of Bryant's father, Mike, watching the announcement live on television, seeing that his son had won and with a handful of emotions, turned and said one word: "Unanimous."

Kris is the first Cubs player to be named Rookie of the Year by such a substantial margin and the 11th to receive all first-place votes, positive vibes for Las Vegas baseball that should continue Thursday, when fellow native Bryce Harper of the Nationals is expected to be named the National League's Most Valuable Player.

Bryant talked about next year, about wanting the Cubs to take their playoff appearance from this season one step further and into a World Series, about making more contact at the plate and improving defensively at third base and becoming a better overall player and eating healthier and doing whatever is possible needed to help his team.

"Today is a great day," Hill said, "because the good guy won."

In unanimous fashion.

— Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on "Seat and Ed" on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney