Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images(CHICAGO) — He’s healthy enough to hit, but Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber was no cleared to play in the outfield during the World Series.
Schwarber missed almost all of the regular season with a torn ACL.
The big hitter returned to the Cubs lineup as a designated hitter for the first two games of the World Series, but with the next three games played at Wrigley Field, the designated hitter won’t be in play. And on Thursday, team president Theo Epstein said doctors did not clear him to play the field.
Schwarber tried to argue for clearance, Epstein said, but the team opted to look out for his long-term health.
Schwarber admitted that it was always a long shot that he would play in the field this series. “There’s no being sad about it. There’s no nothing. I know my role now, and I’m going to embrace it.”
His Game One double made Schwarber the first position player in MLB history to get his first hit of the season in the World Series. “I’m living the dream,” he said. “We’re playing in the World Series. What else could you ask for? I’m just going to keep riding the wave until it ends.”
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