Chicago Cubs

Anthony Rizzo Calls Himself ‘Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All-Time'

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has earned a reputation as one of the most humble and fun-loving guys on the roster, but he made a bold statement after the team’s game on Wednesday.

Rizzo, who batted lead-off for the second consecutive night, led off the game with a home run against the New York Mets. That made it two games in a row that Rizzo had led off with a home run, and even he was impressed by what he had done.

“I’m statistically the greatest hitter of all time to lead the game off,” Rizzo said with a grin. “I’d like to retire there and talk smack to everyone who tries to do it. But you just go with it. It’s fun. Statistically, by the books, I’m the best there ever was right now.”

Rizzo and rookie Ian Happ led off the game with back-to-back home runs to give the Cubs an early 2-0 lead against the Mets, but they couldn’t hold on as they ended up dropping two of three games in the Big Apple.

According to baseball stats guru Ryan Spaeder, the Cubs have only had three lead-off home runs as a team this season, and Rizzo now has two of them despite only leading off in two of the team’s 65 games.

The Cubs will be off on Thursday before resuming their road trip on Friday night with a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

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