Michael Busch's journey to becoming Cubs' long-term solution at first base

The 2017 North Carolina baseball team rolled through the regular season, finishing with a 44-11 season record, the first time the program had won over 40 games before the postseason. The Tar Heels had earned the No. 2 national seed and were the No. 1 seed in their regional.

Facing No. 4 Davidson, the Tar Heels were the favorites, but Davidson proved to be a worthy opponent, beating the Tar Heels in the first game 8-4 and pushing them to the brink of elimination in the second game.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and runners on first and third — the game rested on the shoulders of Michael Busch. He took a deep breath and twirled his bat twice before getting into his stance. Busch, a freshman first baseman for the Tar Heels, had worked a full count with UNC's season on the line. Busch ended up grounding out.

The Tar Heels watched Davidson celebrate before retreating to the locker room. Then-Tar Heels coach Mike Fox walked into the locker room and passed by a distraught Busch who did something Fox had never had a player do in 40 years of coaching: apologize.

“I had to kind of pull him away from me and push him away from me,” Fox told the Sun-Times in a recent phone call. “I'm like, ‘Michael, stop. What are you talking about?’ He was sorry that he made the last out.”

Busch was just a freshman watching as 2017 MLB Draft picks Brian Miller and Logan Warmoth led the team. In that last regional game, Busch hit a solo homer for the Tar Heels’ lone run of the game. But in that moment, Fox remembers being struck by how much his freshman first baseman cared.

“There was just no BS with him,” Fox said. “He was quiet and was reserved. Those kinds of people, when they do talk, their words usually mean something.”

Busch remains the same measured person he was as a freshman. It’s because of his even-keeled demeanor, strong pitch recognition, and improved defense that he’s become the Cubs’ best long-term solution at first base since the team traded first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

‘Baseball is a game of failure’

Busch showed flashes of his talent, but he experienced the hurdles that most freshmen faced while adjusting to the speed of college pitchers and slashed .215/.349/.341 while starting 38 games.

Up to that point in his baseball journey, Busch had never experienced failure. The transition from high school pitching to the sophistication of college pitching can be jarring. Pitch recognition, Fox said, is the first hurdle for high school players as they transition to college baseball.

Amid those struggles, Busch remembers a moment with Fox that still shapes his approach to baseball.

“I was struggling and wasn't playing every day,” Busch told the Sun-Times, “and we were in the weight room and [coach Fox] came up to me and said, ‘Keep going, you're a good player,’ and it was uplifting. It’s not like I started to rake after that, but it was like, ‘OK, just keep going, keep working.’”

“I had never seen pitching like that at that level, at that age. That [conversation] really helped; I haven't forgotten about it for a long time and there’s a reason why.”

Busch's calm approach showed in the most the pressurized moments. Fox remembered Busch breaking up a no-hitter with a game-tying hit with two outs in the Tar Heels’ road game against Florida State during Busch’s freshman year that North Carolina ended up winning 5-2 in extra-innings.

Then the next night he hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to complete North Carolina’s first-ever sweep at Florida State.

“Michael was very mature beyond his years when he got on campus," Fox said. "[He] never seemed to be overwhelmed and got down on himself. “[The Florida State game] was when we saw how good Michael Bush was going to be.”

‘Opportunity is all you can ask for’

When the Cubs acquired Busch from the Los Angeles Dodgers, they knew they were getting a player who had raked throughout the minor leagues. But with the Dodgers, Busch was blocked behind All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and perennial MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani.

Last season, Cubs first basemen slashed 241/.299/.414. Busch needed a new environment and the Cubs' needed a first baseman.

“Opportunity is all you can ask for in this game,” Busch said.

Busch got off to a fast start with the Cubs. He homered in five straight games from April 10 to April 15, tying Sammy Sosa and Ryne Sandberg for the most consecutive games with a homer in team history. But after an electric start, he struggled. From April 15 to May 31, Busch slashed .205/.312/.342 with a 38.4% strikeout rate.

“Baseball is a game of failure, and you start to learn that over the years,” Busch said.

Going back to his North Carolina days, Busch learned to stick to his routine no matter the results, still remembering what Fox told him nearly seven years ago. From June 1 to Sept. 5, Busch slashed .255/.339/.416 with a weighted runs created plus of 114.

"The most impressive thing is being able to adjust as the league adjusts to you," second baseman Nico Hoerner told the Sun-Times.

‘He continues to get better’

First-base coach Mike Napoli — a former major-league first baseman — said there are challenges in the footwork, picking the ball and receiving throws despite the position not being viewed as a premium position.

Before games, Busch works with infield coach Jonathan Mota through various fielding drills to improve his ability to pick the ball. The results are promising as Busch is in the 84th percentile for outs above average, according to Baseball Savant.

“It's a position that gets overlooked a lot defensively,” Hoerner said. “It's a position that people think can be easy to play but [it's] hard to play well, and he's done a great job of that.”

‘He’s got a great perspective’

Fox retired from North Carolina in 2020. It's opened up his schedule to visit former players, like Busch. Fox came to Chicago to watch Busch during the Cubs' series against the Diamondbacks on July 20.

Though the two might not see each other as often, they have cultivated a relationship that will last for years. Busch said Fox was like a father figure and appreciated the coach's hard but fair approach.

"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," Busch said.

When the two reconnected after the game, Fox said he saw the same person he coached at North Carolina, just older. He saw that same drive to improve from Busch.

"He wants to be a great big-league player," Fox said. "He's got a great perspective on it, and he's always been that way, just even-keeled, calm and measured."