Former Chicago Cub Talks Magical Season

In 2021, the Chicago Cubs had a breakout star who was never able to replicate it, and he recently talked about it.

Chicago Cubs center fielder Rafael Ortega (66) celebrates with designated hitter Frank Schwindel (18) after Schwindel's two-run home run in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chicago Cubs 2021 season was nothing to ride home about, finishing with a 71-91 record for fourth place in the NL Central. It was a notable season because of the fire sale at the deadline, where they traded Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez. However, they did have a relatively unknown player have a huge breakout and Frank Schwindel was one of the stories of the season.

Schwindel was a journeyman, drafted in the 18th round of the 2013 MLB Draft and didn't make his debut until 2019, when he played six games with the Kansas City Royals. He was selected off waivers by Chicago in 2021 and his magical season began.

"I don't know. I still don't know what happened," he said of his season.

After playing just 14 games in the Majors prior to his time with the Cubs, he went on a run players dream of.

In 56 games, Schwindel had a slashline of .342/.389/.613 with a 1.002 OPS, 19 doubles, 13 home runs, 40 RBI and a 166 OPS+. For that small sample size, Schwindel was unstoppable. It was an unreal run no one saw coming.

He then came back after earning a spot in 2022, but wasn't able to replicate his production. In 75 games, Schwindel had just a .635 OPS with eight home runs. After 2022, he didn't play in the big leagues again.

"It was just, I think it was just the fact of just going out and having the most fun as possible. I had my teammates behind me, the city behind me. And it was just, like, the most fun I can imagine. So I just couldn't wait to get to the ballpark every day. And I think that's a big part of it where, you know, everything clicked at the right time," he explained.

Since his breakout season and subsequent fall off, he has played in Japan as well as independent baseball.

Most recently, he played for the Long Island Ducks in 2024, posting a .952 OPS with 14 home runs in 61 games. Even though his MLB success was short lived, he still remembers it fondly.

"It was, it was just a lot of fun. So, I don't think, I can't put any rhyme or reason to it, but it was awesome," said Schwindel.

Even though it didn't work out in the long term, there is no doubt that this magical run from Schwindel will be remembered by Cubs fans for years to come.