CHICAGO -- Javier Baez may not lead the National League in all offensive categories, but he possesses a skill that, Cubs manager Joe Maddon has noticed, puts the infielder above others. Baez, one of the top NL Most Valuable Player Award candidates, is a leader on the field, no matter where he's playing.
"Leadership is normally taken as opposed to given," Maddon said Friday. "When it comes to a team situation like this, that leadership role is normally taken. There's a lot of respect going his direction from everybody else, first of all, because he's played as well as he has, but beyond that, the things he does.