After multiple offseasons in which Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein stressed the need for more proactive leadership from top to bottom, various players have been vocal about readiness to play and holding one another accountable.
Javier Baez took ownership in saying there were days he did not feel ready to play, while Kris Bryant said he was prepared to “run through a wall” after hearing David Ross address the team for the first time:
Of course, these are also things that have been said in previous years without much substance in backing up such words.