Why the vitriol for Dodgers Kyle Tucker was so

CHICAGO — The boo birds had been energetic at Wrigley Field this week, as the Dodgers had been swept by the Cubs in a three-game collection.

The vitriol for the World Series favorites, days after they traded for the best participant accessible at the deadline (two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal) touched virtually every participant in the Dodgers lineup. But Cubs followers’ boos had been by far the most enthusiastic for the proper fielder who’d departed their workforce in free company this past winter.

Kyle Tucker, for his half, dodged the first query that talked about the hostile reception he acquired in his first collection back at Wrigley Field since signing a four-year, $240-million contract with the Dodgers over the offseason.

“I liked playing here last year,” Tucker said after the recreation Monday. “There were some really great guys over there, and they have a good team. So it’s nice being back and playing here. I liked it.”

When pressed on whether or not he understood the boos, Tucker said: “I don’t know. I tried my hardest last year. I tried playing through a hand fracture and calf thing, just trying to get back to the playoffs for them and trying to do what I could to help out the team last year with them. Hit really well in the first half, and second half didn’t go as great, and kind of didn’t end up great at the end of the year. But I had a good run.”

Let’s unpack that.

This yr, Dodgers followers have largely seen a model of Tucker who’s on tempo for one of the worst offensive seasons in the four-time All-Star’s profession. But when the Cubs landed Tucker in a blockbuster commerce with the Astros before the 2025 season, hoping he’d elevate their offense, he did just that for the first three months of the season.

His best month was June (.982 OPS), when, unbeknownst to the public, he was taking part in through a small fracture in his proper hand.

Not having the ability to grip the bat correctly ultimately took a toll on his swing mechanics, sending him into an prolonged stoop. When he finally appeared to be popping out of it in late August, a left calf injury sidelined him in early September.

When the injury lingered far longer than initially anticipated, hoping to return in time to contribute in the postseason, Tucker made the unorthodox determination to journey to Tampa to work with the bodily therapy group that helped him get better from a fractured shin the yr before.

Unable to fully eradicate the symptoms of his strained calf, Tucker returned to the Cubs lineup as the designated hitter the last weekend of the common season and through the playoffs, where he went seven for 27 with a home run in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Brewers.

Through the ups and downs of the season, Tucker still got here out of it with a 2025 Silver Slugger award. He had the second-highest OPS on the workforce (.841) among gamers with at least 100 plate appearances, behind former Dodger Michael Busch (.866).

In response to Tucker’s feedback Monday, Cubs followers on social media said they had been upset with Tucker for taking part in through his hand injury, and for leaving the workforce to deal with his calf injury — which appeared to set up a no-win scenario for his relationship with the fan base.

Tucker’s union with the Cubs was always anticipated to be short time period. That was always the case from the second they acquired him one season away from what was projected to be a profitable free company. Nothing had modified by the last out of the workforce’s 2025 season, as they fell one win shy of assembly the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

With the Dodgers, Tucker has yet to put together a real sizzling streak at the plate. He’s hit far better in away video games (.828 OPS) than at home (.601) this yr.

On the street again, Tucker went 5 for 11 in three video games against the Cubs this week — maybe a signal of good issues to come, in a season full of false begins.

“Just working every single day, just trying to be consistent with my work and what I do in the cage and everything and trying to translate it out onto the field,” he said Monday. “Felt pretty good today. Had good at-bats the past couple days and stuff. So just trying to continue that moving forward into tomorrow’s game and so forth.”

His greatest second of the collection got here Tuesday. In his first at-bat of the recreation, he lifted a solo home run into the left-field bleachers and trotted around the bases to a refrain of boos.

It was the Dodgers’ only run of the recreation.