Injuries not dampening Kris Bryant's outlook on game, life

Currently on the injured list because of a left rib contusion and an oblique strain, Rockies infielder/outfielder Kris Bryant sat down with MLB.com and answered a wide range of topics from his injury-plagued three years in Colorado to getting back on the field after the All-Star break.

MLB.com: I understand you will begin a rehab assignment for Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday. How good is it to be back on the field?

Kris Bryant: It feels great. … The hitting is going well. I feel like there is no hesitation, so that’s good.

MLB.com: I saw you take fielding practice. You looked great. Tell me how you feel from that aspect?

Bryant: The feeling is good there. … I didn't realize how much I use my core muscles in everything I do like tying your shoe or just bending over. But now all of those symptoms are gone. Fielding, hitting and running have been great.

MLB.com: While you were on the IL, what was the biggest thing you missed about the game of baseball?

Bryant: Just being on the field and getting [a] good stretch of games in. That’s what I miss. When I’m playing games consistently -- 30-40 games at a time -- that’s when I get into a groove. I haven’t given myself that opportunity to do that. I’m looking forward to it.

MLB.com: Before you came to Colorado, you were playing almost every game without any problems. However, you have been hurt since you have been in Colorado. How shocking has that been for you?

Bryant: With the Cubs and Giants, I took tons of pride in playing every game I could. I’m 100% [trying] to do that with the Rockies. It’s that my body just hasn’t allowed it. Everything I hear -- Denver is a tough place to play because of the elevation; it does a number on your body; you don’t recover as well -- I have to find ways to adjust and get used to it. I’m figuring it out slowly.

MLB.com: What are you going to do differently once you get back on the field?

Bryant: I would love to say I would do things differently. With the oblique [for example], I made a catch up against the wall. My glove got caught in the fence. It was kind of a freak accident. I don’t know if there is anything I can do differently to avoid that. But, yeah, I was really fortunate [before Colorado]. You could go back to high school, college and my first six or seven years in the big leagues -- I was very fortunate to avoid injuries. It seems things are piling up on me lately. But hopefully, I can change the narrative these [next] four years in Colorado.

MLB.com: You are versatile. Do you have any idea where you will be playing? You can play first, third, the outfield or become a designated hitter.

Bryant: Probably more DH. I can definitely play some outfield. I think my days at third base are long gone. We have a really good third baseman [in Ryan McMahon] here.

MLB.com: What is your best position?

Bryant: At this point in my career to try and keep me on the field as much as possible, it will probably be first base, because playing outfield at Coors Field is very demanding. It’s a really big field. It’s tough to get to those gaps sometimes. You have the elevation and the recovery. That all wears on your body. I’m not saying first base is any easier. It is a little less demanding position than in the outfield at Coors.

MLB.com: How much has your family helped you throughout this ordeal with injuries?

Bryant: My family has always been there for all the good and bad things in my career. I have four kids now, and they make it easy to come home with a smile. I have a great wife, great parents. Everybody is there to support me. I’m very blessed with a family who understands the crazy things we go through as baseball players. They have supported me every step of the way.

MLB.com: I know your kids are not psychiatrists, but they do something and make you say, “This is not all that bad.” Could you tell me what some of your kids have done to make you feel better?

Bryant: My oldest is close to four and a half. He doesn’t understand baseball at all. He is excited to go to the games. He is excited when I’m done playing and then I play with him. Some people live and die by sports. I get it. For me, I can get away from it quickly when I get home with my kids. It’s so nice and I really enjoy my time with them.

MLB.com: Be honest with me, do you live and die with this sport?

Bryant: Of course, yeah. There are times, we are so hard on ourselves. I’ve been that way my whole career. It has frustrated me at times where I ask, “Why am I so hard on myself?” It’s not life or death. Sometimes, I make it feel that way. That’s where me being older and a veteran, I talk to some of the young guys here and I tell them, “You don’t have to feel that way. There is always another game. There is another opportunity.”

MLB.com: It seems like yesterday when you were rookie with the Cubs. Now you are a veteran trying to teach the young players on the Rockies how to deal with the good and bad on the field.

Bryant: For me, I had a lot of veterans around me that I looked up to. I saw how they handled failure and success. A lot of times, you could hardly tell the type of game that they had. They didn’t let the good things or the bad affect them. That’s kind of my message to any young guy here. You are going to have way more bad games, especially in baseball, because it’s so hard.

MLB.com: When you were with the Cubs, who was the one veteran that took you under his wing and said, “This isn’t all that bad?”

Bryant: There were so many. Anthony Rizzo. I wouldn’t consider him a veteran at that time. He had three years of service time, but it was how he approached the game. He would show up to the field and he was the same guy every day and attacked each day with forgetting what happened the night before -- good or bad. He was a good role model for me when I came up.

Also, Jon Lester, too. That guy should be a Hall of Famer. He is one of the best left-handed pitchers of all time. It was how he competed toward the end of his career. He wasn’t throwing nearly as hard when he first came up, but he went out there and competed as best as he could. There is something to be said about that, too.

MLB.com: When you return to the big leagues, will we see the Kris Bryant of 2015-20?

Bryant: Sure. How I approach it, it’s always in the tank. If I play a good stretch of games where I can be on the field, seeing pitches and bringing myself back up to speed, the talent is always going to be there. So, of course, I’m going to expect that out of myself every time I step on the field. I’m expecting it.