Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesThis is an article about Trevor Story Aaron Donald Jersey Elite , but don't worry. It will be completely pun-less. Every possible play on his last name has already been made hundreds of times over.Besides, let's be real. All anyone wants to do right now is watchthat home run again.You know, this one:That's the 505-foot home run that Story blasted in the Colorado Rockies' 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5.It's the longest home run of at least the Statcast era (since 2015), and possibly ever. After all, it's not as if the measurements of legendary dingers of yesteryear can be trusted.In any case, that prodigious wallop is a grand ol' feather in the cap of a player who's quietly become the best shortstop in the National League.Homers are certainly a big part of Story's case. His big blast was merely the loudest of the 32 he's hit this season. No other NL shortstop has more than 17. Throw in 40 doubles and 25 stolen bases, and he's already had a season unlike any shortstop ever.Meanwhile, Story also co-leads his fellow NL shortstops in average (.293), and leads inon-base percentage (.347), slugging percentage (.558) and wins above replacement (5.0).But if it feels like the 25-year-old has been doing all this under the radar, that's because he has been.Story only made the NL All-Star team as a backup to Brandon Crawford. He's attracted less attention on Google all season than Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, who had Tommy John surgery in May. Per Richard Justice of MLB.com, he'smerely on the periphery of the NL MVP race.It seems safe to chalk this up to the Rockies effect. Even when they're doing well鈥攁s they are now in leading the NL West race鈥攖hey tend to be treated as an oddity on the national stage. And whenever one of their hitters puts up big numbers, there's always the "yeah, but Coors Field" clapback.This is where a defense of Story must begin. The thin air and huge gaps of the Rockies' digs carried his production in his first two seasons, but wRC+ reveals that he's been an above average hitter at and away from home in 2018:It helps to have power that plays anywhere. Story's 43.5 hard-hit percentage since 2016 ranks fifth among qualified hitters. He's also "barreled" 12.1 percent of his batted balls http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/derwin-james-jersey , which easily tops his fellow shortstops. So, you see, his 505-foot clout wasn'tthat muchof an outlier.But while Story's power generated 51 home runs in his first two seasons, his .253 average and .322 OBP underscored his trouble with consistency. His fatal flaw was his 33.1 strikeout percentage, which placed him behind only Chris Davis and Miguel Sano.In 2018, however, Story has cut his K% down to 26.1 percent. This marks an improvement of historic proportions, according toJeff Sullivanof FanGraphs. The recipe for it involves a little Kris Bryant and a little Mike Trout.Like Story, Bryant was a big-time strikeout magnet when he broke into the majors in 2015. His solution was to flatten his swing, cutting down on its uppercut quality and allowing for a more direct path to the ball. Lo and behold, his strikeout problem isn't a problem anymore.According to Nick Groke of theDenver Post, the Rockies started pushing Story to make a similar change late in 2017, and it's paying off now.His average launch angle is down from 18.8 to 16.6 degrees. This has cost him some fly balls but gained him quite a bit of contact.Another issue Story had in his first two seasons was a reluctance to swing, even when pitches found the strike zone. That placed him on the wrong side of the fine line between patience and passivity.EnterBrandon Sherard, Story's longtime friend and hitting coach, who pressed the slugger to alter his approach.鈥淥ne of the biggest things we did was have him change his mindset to where he was hunting the ball out in front of the plate and slowing his body down http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/aaron-donald-jersey ,鈥?Sherard told Patrick Saunders of the Post.This, too, is paying off. Per Baseball Savant's most detailed strike zone, Story's swing rate inside the zone has increased while his swing rate outside the zone has remained static:Hence the comparison to Trout, who'sundertaken a similar revolution over the last three years. Story hasn't鈥攁nd probably definitely never will鈥攔each his heights, but his damage within the strike zone has improved accordingly:2016:.766 SLUG%2017:.569 SLUG%2018:.853 SLUG%As Story has made efforts to become a better hitter, his other talents haven't fallen by the wayside.He's a threat on the bases because he's one of the fastest shortstops in MLB, with an average sprint of 29.6 feet per second. His defensive quality is harder to pin down, yet defensive runs saved leans decidedly to the positive. The video offers plenty of support in favor of that conclusion.Ultimately, there aren't any reasons to doubt that Story really is as good as his numbers suggest. The tools were there from the beginning. By adding some nuance to his game, he's permitting himself to squeeze more out of them.Which is to say: He's worthy of attention, even when he's not hitting the ball untold distances. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Even with a little extra help, which was ruled illegal, the Phillies couldn’t stop the Cubs offense.Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings, Javier Baez notched his NL-leading 99th RBI and star third baseman Kris Bryant doubled and had two hits in his return from the disabled list to lead Chicago past Philadelphia 7-1 on Saturday night.Ian Happ homered and Baez had three hits for the NL Central-leading Cubs http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/todd-gurley-ii-jersey , who have won nine of 11. Chicago is ahead of St. Louis by 4 ½ games.“You look at the whole of the game, I thought we played really well,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Some good at-bats, some clutch moments. Up and down, I was really pleased.”Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was not happy, particularly when veteran umpire Joe West confiscated an information card from reliever Austin Davis in the eighth inning.Kapler said Davis was using the card merely for information on the Cubs hitters. But West said it was illegal under Rule 6.02(c)(7), which states that the pitcher shall not have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance.“I told him we don’t allow him to carry anything on their glove, person or clothing except in some cases where there’s a rain situation we allow them to put a rosin bag in their pocket,” West, umpiring his 41st season, said. “Other than that they can’t have anything on the pitcher.”The card didn’t appear to help though, as Bryant singled to right on the first pitch after Davis consulted it. West then took it prior to Davis striking out pinch-hitter Addison Russell.“I think it’s actually a really good thing for baseball,” Kapler said. “I don’t really quite understand this one.”Bryant had been sidelined since July 23 with left shoulder inflammation. The 2016 NL MVP doubled and scored in the third in addition to singling in the eighth.Hendricks (11-10) allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.“Kyle was outstanding,” Maddon said. “When they started getting something going http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/cooper-kupp-jersey , Kyle didn’t change. The game did not speed up on him.”Nick Williams had two hits and an RBI for the Phillies, who fell three games back of Atlanta in the NL East.The Cubs, helped by another Phillies error, scored a pair of runs in the first off Zach Eflin (9-6). Daniel Murphy led off with a double and reached on shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera’s throwing error on Baez’s infield single. Baez scored on Ben Zobrist’s opposite-field double. It was the 104th error by Philadelphia, which entered second in the majors to St. Louis (105).Chicago tacked on two more runs in the third to go up 4-0 on Kyle Swarber’s two-out triple off the wall in left-center.The Phillies got a run back in the fourth on Williams’ RBI single before Happ’s one-out solo shot to right made it a four-run game again.Davis committed the Phillies’ 105th error, a throwing miscue that led to two unearned runs in the ninth.GRAY AREAWest called the league office after the game and admitted the use of the card may be in a gray area.“I didn’t want to throw him out,” West said. “I know it’s foreign but he’s not trying to cheat. Maybe he’s trying to get an advantage because he’s reading the scouting report, but it wasn’t pine tar, it wasn’t an emery board, it wasn’t whatever.“In the long run, maybe they’ll let him (have the card). Right now, my hands are tied until they say yes or now. Right now, until the office says it’s OK to carry this, he can’t do it.”SLUMPING EFLINEflin gave up four runs – three earned – on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk in five innings. The right-hander continued to struggle since being demoted to Triple-A following his Aug. 10 start at San Diego, dropping to 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA while allowing 32 hits in 20 1/3 innings. The move was made not due to performance, but to allow the Phillies to add a bat.However http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/jared-goff-jersey , neither Kapler nor Eflin attributed his recent struggles to the roster move.“I don’t think there’s any correlation there,” Kapler said.STREAK SNAPPEDPhiladelphia’s Roman Quinn grounded out pinch-hitting in the fifth, snapping a nine-game hitting streak. Quinn still is batting .405 with two doubles, three triples, a homer and five RBIs over his last 10 contests.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: Russell, out since Aug. 20 with a left middle finger sprain, was activated from the DL. He struck out in the eighth.Phillies: RHP Edubray Ramos, Davis and INF/OF Pedro Florimon all were activated from the DL.UP NEXTPhillies RHP Aaron Nola (15-3, 2.10) was bumped up from his scheduled start on Monday to face Cubs LHP Jon Lester (14-5, 3.67) in a marquee pitching matchup to wrap up the three-game series on Sunday.