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Levine: Royals Rave About Former Teammate Ben Zobrist, An Asset To The Cubs This Year

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- By all accounts, the Chicago Cubs may now have the final piece of the puzzle for a championship run. If one man makes a difference in winning a World Series, then Ben Zobrist is your man for all reasons on the North Side this season.

The 34-year-old Zobrist signed a four-year, $56-million deal with the Cubs last December. Nobody has complained about what he's getting paid as of yet, as he has produced dividends on the investment quickly. Zobrist is hitting .403 in May and .326 overall. Zobrist, a Eureka, Ill. native, has had a huge impact of his team and the people he has come into contact with in Chicago.

With Zobrist having played most of his career in Tampa Bay, many outside of the mainstream baseball industry may not have known just what what was bringing to the table on the back end of his career. Playing mostly second base now, he was the gold standard for multi-positional players for the last decade.

Getting traded from Oakland to the Kansas City Royals last July turned out to be fortunate for the player and  the small-market franchise. The Royals won their first World Series in 31 years and Zobrist got his first championship ring last fall. All of this was accomplished in two months before he became a free agent for the first time.

I asked Royals manager Ned Yost if he knew what he was getting in Zobrist.

"I knew how good he was long ago," Yost insisted. "When he was in college, he and my son were roommates. I have known Benny since back then. As a matter of fact, I tried to get Milwaukee (Yost's former team) to draft him. They thought he would be a 10th-round pick or up. Houston jumped in and got him in the sixth round. I was disappointed because I loved his makeup and his competitive nature. He was a switch hitter, and I liked the fact that he could play the infield the way he did. When we had a chance to get him last year I was thrilled."

Zobrist was a catalyst for the eventual world champs last season. He hit .289 in 59 games for the Royals and came up even bigger in the playoffs. He hit .333 in the divisional series victory over the Astros and batted .320 with two key home runs in the ALCS win over the Blue Jays.

"He made a huge impact on our team and us winning," Yost said. "First off, he fit right into a very solid clubhouse. He changed the whole dynamic of our lineup. Getting him allowed me to put him second in our lineup. That lengthened our batting order to the point that we were able to have a fine hitter like Alex Gordon batting eighth. We could put (Mike) Moustakas back into a spot where he could be more of a run producer in the sixth spot. To me, it created a dynamic lineup with no holes. He produced offensively and on defense right away. He was a huge part of our run in the playoffs."

Former teammates rave about Zobrist and his contributions on and off the field.

"He was huge in our run," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "He was able to play every position well. Offensively, he gave us a big boost, going right into that number two hole. He had a lot of big hits for us. Every time he came up in the post season in a big situation, he got an important hit or had a great at bat. He brought a lot of leadership here. He was a great person that fit right in with us. You see him as a great father and guy off the field."

Yost calls Zobrist the perfect player.

"He is tremendously prepared, just one of those players who leaves it all out on the field," Yost said. "He works his tail off to help his team get ready to win a baseball game. He is just good. My hope was to get him back. He got an offer from Chicago that he just couldn't refuse. He certainly is a big reason the Cubs have gotten on the start they are on."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.

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