{"id":58504,"date":"2025-05-30T14:25:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58504"},"modified":"2025-05-30T14:25:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:25:47","slug":"cubs-seiya-suzuki-deflects-praise-after-historic-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58504","title":{"rendered":"Cubs&#8217; Seiya Suzuki Deflects Praise After Historic Start"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/suzuki-e1748582311863.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/suzuki-e1748582311863.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/suzuki-e1748582311863.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/suzuki-e1748582311863.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cubs' Seiya Suzuki Deflects Praise After Historic Start\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Seiya Suzuki is celebrating in the Cubs dugout<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Prior to the 2022 season, the Chicago Cubs surprised many by signing prized international free agent Seiya Suzuki on a massive 5-year, $85 million deal. Since then, the former 5-time NPB All-Star has steadily progressed into one of the best hitters in baseball, showcasing his all-world ability at the plate.<\/p>\n<p>But he has been on another level to begin this season. Suzuki had been good and bordering on great at times for the Cubs. But this season, his numbers are comparable to the game\u2019s biggest stars as he has helped to lead one of the best offenses in baseball. But despite his success, Suzuki remains the same humble, chill, and laid-back guy.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent article by the Chicago Tribune\u2019s Mehgam Montemurro, she reported that Suzuki deflected praise to his teammates when asked about his historic start.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I changed anything,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cI think more so it shows the guys around me are getting on base, and RBIs are something that really happens because of everybody around you. So all the support from all the other players getting on base, I really appreciate that, and I want to continue to do that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"5e545322afb236d4f9e70b4f3cad2c7e\">\n<div data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SlangsOnSports\/status\/1927539661078954285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1927539661078954285%7Ctwgr%5Ebf3dbd6ecf4fea7b152fb571ea4506f471261a3a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fmlb%2Fcubs%2Fnews%2Fcubs-star-slugger-seiya-suzuki-makes-franchise-history-with-rare-feat\">\n<blockquote data-dnt=\"true\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Cubs players with 50+ RBI in their first 51 games of a season (RBI official since 1920):<\/p>\n<p>2025 Seiya Suzuki<br \/>\n2005 Derrek Lee<br \/>\n2000-01 Sammy Sosa<br \/>\n1987 Andre Dawson<br \/>\n1970 Billy Williams<br \/>\n1960 Ernie Banks<br \/>\n1952, \u201854 Hank Sauer<br \/>\n1941 Bill Nicholson<br \/>\n1926-27, \u201829-\u201830 Hack Wilson https:\/\/t.co\/J3OVglVquj<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 28, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>An unbelievable start<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to overstate just how dominant Suzuki has been this season. Let\u2019s start by detailing his baseline numbers. So far in 52 games, the 30-year-old has slashed .273\/.333\/.569\/.903 for a 153 OPS+ and 1.5 bWAR. Despite primarily playing as a designated hitter, Suzuki has been one of the most valuable players in the National League. His 51 RBIs lead baseball, and his 14 homers are tied for 10th. Suzuki has gotten better each season for the Cubs, and his leap in 2025 may have vaulted him into becoming one of the best hitters in the big leagues.<\/p>\n<p>So, what has been the key to his success? It\u2019s simple: He\u2019s hitting the ball really hard and on the sweet spot of the bat. According to his Baseball Savant page, Suzuki ranks in the 93rd percentile in both Barrel Rate (16.6%) and Average Exit Velocity (93.1 MPH). Additionally, his Sweet spot percentage is 45%, which ranks him in the 97th percentile.<\/p>\n<p>Suzuki has changed his profile as a hitter and become much more aggresisve at the plate. Hes walking less, and chasing a little bit more. But his increased aggressiveness has allowed him to do more damage. His slugging is up by 88 points from last season. Ironically, walking less and swinging more has been an excellent choice for him.<\/p>\n<h2>Is the best yet to come?<\/h2>\n<p>Despite his incredible numbers this season, he may still be getting unlucky this season. His xBA is ten points higher than his actual batting average, and his xWOBA is 42 points higher than his actual on-base percentage. While he has played just 15 games in the field this year, his defense has seemed competent. Good enough to be a spot starter if Ian Happ or Kyle Tucker need a day off.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Suzuki is finally performing like the superstar the Cubs knew he could be when they signed him out of Japan in 2022. He has been a key cog in one of the best offenses in baseball.<\/p>\n<p>Michael DeFrancisco Michael DeFrancisco is a writer and contributor covering MLB for Heavy Sports. He started working at Heavy in 2025 and has experince covering Chicago Sports. More about Michael DeFrancisco<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Cubs<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cubs star Seiya Suzuki has been one of MLB&#8217;s best players so far in the 2025 season. But what has been the key to his newfound success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":58505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cubs&#039; Seiya Suzuki Deflects Praise After Historic Start - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58504\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs&#039; Seiya Suzuki Deflects Praise After Historic Start - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cubs star Seiya Suzuki has been one of MLB&#039;s best players so far in the 2025 season. 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