Bryant sees joy, fun as keys for turnaround in '24

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Upon signing his seven-year, $182 million contract with the Rockies in 2022, Kris Bryant harkened back to carefree youth days when his teams from Las Vegas made annual trips to Colorado. However, his search to relive happy days has brought him injury after injury.

But during the most recent of his three trips to the injured list -- when he missed 44 games with a fractured left index finger after being hit by a pitch -- he again looked to his youth.

By the end of last season, Bryant had to reach into his bank account, when as promised he bought a Rolex watch for rookie Nolan Jones for reaching statistical thresholds -- 20 home runs, 20 steals and 62 RBIs. For the feeling of competition and belonging, Bryant felt it was money well-spent.

“For me growing up, not just in professional baseball, but even going back to Little League, I always found competition with your older brother or your best friend is really good,” said Bryant, 32. “That was something Nolan and I had -- get to certain numbers and I’ll buy you a watch. And I was super-proud of him.

“Now he's coming up to me: ‘OK, let’s make some goals, like I get you something if you do this, and you do the same for me.’ It brings back the joy and the fun and the inner competition between you and your friends. That’s good because the game will beat you down. It’s long and tough.”

Jones, 25, is pulling for Bryant, even if “financially we are in a little bit different situations, so I don’t know if my gift will be as cool as his.”

A lower-back strain and season-ending plantar fasciitis limited Bryant to 42 games in 2022. Last year, it was first a bruised left heel and the finger injury -- after being hit by a pitch for the third straight game -- that held him at 80 games.

It’s fair to wonder if the last two years -- not only featuring injury, but also struggling Rockies teams and focus on his contract -- has had a beat-down effect. To prevent that, Bryant has his inner child. If that’s not enough, he can lean on an increasingly young Rockies group.

“Being on the field very sporadically takes a toll on you mentally,” Bryant said. “I’m excited to be around my teammates, teach them and learn from them. That’s something I can control, something that keeps me in the present. I’m looking at how the season’s going to go -- win-loss, batting average, all that stuff.

“I show up here with full joy. That’s something that in the past I’ve never really paid attention to. I just showed up and went about my business. But I’m trying to find that feeling, when you’re 5, 6, 7 years old, playing on the field.”

The plan is for Bryant to be on the field, if he can stay on the field. Manager Bud Black moved Bryant to first base late last season after the final injury. This season, Bryant could play first base, right field or as a designated hitter, or float to any of the three. While the Rockies’ clubhouse has young players who can play two of those positions (Elehuris Montero) or all three (Sean Bouchard, Michael Toglia, Hunter Goodman), none are at the stage where they’re expected to overtake Bryant (or 14th-year veteran DH/right fielder Charlie Blackmon).

“I don’t worry about KB,” Black said. “The thing I know about KB is he has a lot of pride. KB is filled with that. He’s a pro with great talent and he’s built the right way.

“He’s a lifetime .280 hitter with a .380 on-base. He’s an offensive player … an All-Star player. The other guys are battling for their own at-bats. Those are the guys that have to solidify themselves. KB did it when he was the Rookie of the Year [in 2015 with the Cubs], and the next year he was the Most Valuable Player in the National League and was a World Series champ.”

In his two abbreviated years with the Rockies, Bryant has a just-over-MLB-average .740 OPS and 15 home runs. Anything approaching his five seasons with 25 or more homers before joining Colorado would make him a hit in Denver.

“He wants as much as anyone to play every day and be the heart of this lineup -- the guy he really is,” Jones said.

For all he has done, Bryant carries himself much like teammates who were on the field for a 59-103 season, the worst in club history.

“Even after a good season, when you get to Spring Training it’s a new season with new opportunity,” Bryant said. “Last year was not the way we wanted to go. But there are a lot of areas we all identified, and we’re going to attack those with urgency.”