Marietta excited for hometown hero Dansby Swanson's Braves debut

Dansby Swanson of Marietta suits up for the Atlanta Braves tonight and his hometown can't wait to cheer him on.

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Marietta High School Baseball Coach Chris Stafford and many of his players are headed down to Turner Field to see their hero in action. The Braves jettisoned struggling shortstop Erick Aybar, acquired a much-needed catcher prospect and cleared the way for Dansby's major-league debut.

PHOTO GALLERY: Here comes Dansby Swanson

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Dansby keeps in touch with his hometown crowd, attending camps and workouts. When he was a senior at Marietta High School, he gave some of his jerseys to the younger players coming up behind him.

"They were so big they had to sleep in them," Marietta mom Kathryn Mayfield, whose son Bowen was 10 when he received one of the shirts. Bowen plans to be at Turner Field tonight, wearing the shirt Dansby gave him. It fits him now, like a glove.