As he addressed the Chicago media for the first of what should be many times over the length of his new contract, Dansby Swanson began with a story about his grandfather, who recently died.
Swanson recalled his childhood days, when he would come home from school and run into his grandfather’s house (he lived near Swanson, his parents and siblings). Young Dansby would demand his grandfather come out and hit ground balls to him.
“But every time I walked in,” Swanson said, “he would have a Cubs game on.”
This was when Cubs games aired on WGN. Swanson’s grandfather loved baseball, but the young boy always told him some form of the statement below:
“Pops, we’re in Atlanta, dude. We’re Braves fans.”
After spending his entire career with the Braves, Swanson is officially a Cub. He put on the uniform and cap at his introductory press conference on Wednesday. And with that story, he began to answer a question many have had.
Is Chicago actually special to the Atlanta kid?
“Having won a championship in Atlanta for one of (my grandfather’s) favorite teams, we just felt that the Cubs, which were his second-favorite team – that bringing a championship to this city was just what we have felt called to do,” Swanson said during the press conference, which the Cubs streamed live.
Swanson’s introduction to the media largely focused on his intangible qualities and how he can use them to help drive the Cubs toward contention. The “It” factor you always heard about with Swanson? The Cubs love it. Without using that term, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins both alluded to Swanson’s value outside of his tools and the numbers on his baseball card.
The Cubs gave Swanson a seven-year, $177 million contract, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed last weekend. It includes a full no-trade clause.
It caused anger for some Atlanta sports fans, pain for others. But there is something everyone is feeling: It is strange to see Swanson in a Cubs uniform, the same way it felt weird watching Freddie Freeman put on the Dodgers’ threads.
The guy who always remained optimistic – but realistic – about his Braves teams was now doing so about the Cubs.
“There’s no place that’s better than Wrigley and the fans,” Swanson said at one point. “... I walked out (to the field) and I felt like a little kid on Christmas, just smiling and giggling to some extent. This is home now.”
Asked about the pressure of being a top free-agent Cubs signing, Swanson said: “If you guys would’ve seen the pressure that was put on me to perform in my hometown over the last six years – in a way, this is another step in that challenge. … Obviously everyone knows that Chicago Cubs fans are, like, the best fans in baseball. They support their team, they love their team, they show up each and every day, no matter where the city is. And so to be able to perform for a town like that is pretty remarkable. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
The Cubs believe Swanson can be a piece that pushes them into contention. They won a World Series in 2016, but that core never unfolded as they hoped. Now they’re trying to reach those heights again.
“When you ask around about Dansby as you do your research, the word that always comes up every time is ‘winner,’” Hoyer said. “Any teammate, any coach, anyone that’s been around him, that always comes up.”
And when the Cubs recently met with Swanson in Atlanta, the shortstop ended up interviewing them. He asked them tons of questions.
How are you guys going to win? What’s your plan? What’s your philosophy? What players are you going to surround me with? What prospects are coming through the pipeline?
Swanson wanted to know all of this.
“It was very clear winning was the priority,” Hoyer said.
It seemed like Swanson genuinely wanted to return to Atlanta. The Braves wanted to keep him.
It appeared the Braves’ offer fell far short of what the Cubs gave Swanson.
This offseason, Swanson ventured into free agency for the first time. He compared it to collegiate recruiting.
“You get interviewed, but you also interview your potential employer,” Swanson said. “It was an odd process. It was odd not knowing truly where you would end up. I’m a person that likes structure, likes clarity, and not having that was a little odd at times.”
At one point, Cubs front-office members had lunch with Swanson in Atlanta. Another key moment, Swanson said, was a phone call with Hawkins.
Some background: Hawkins is from Atlanta. Growing up, he played baseball with Swanson’s older brother. Hawkins went to Vanderbilt, where Swanson played college ball. Swanson and Hawkins had the foundation to connect, but didn’t know one another personally.
During the Winter Meetings, Swanson and Hawkins talked over the phone.
Of that call, Swanson said: “I’m pretty sure I started with: Listen, man. You’re an Atlanta guy, too. You’re also a Vanderbilt guy. Hopefully we’ll be in Chicago together. I need you to give it to me as straightforward as you can – about the vision and what’s ahead. Who’s coming and how are we actually going to be good? I left that conversation feeling better than going into it, honestly.”
Not only did Swanson ask the Cubs how they would contend and win, but he wanted to know how they could make him better. He asked them about everything, from their nutrition program to strength and conditioning to the hitting infrastructure.
In free agency, Swanson got a feeling about the Cubs.
‘Really got the gist of what it actually means to this organization and this city to win,” he said. “I felt that. This is something I wanted to be a part of, something I wanted to help build. I feel like God gave me some unique leadership skills, and the ability to get the most out of other people. It just felt like that’s something that they really valued, is that kind of input and that kind of direction. It really just started to feel like a match made in heaven.”
In answering all these questions, it’s clear Swanson was not dissing Atlanta or the Braves. This is simply the business side of baseball. The Braves weren’t willing to offer Swanson what he received from the Cubs.
You can understand both sides – why the Braves wouldn’t give Swanson that money, and why he wouldn’t leave so much money on the table to play for his hometown team. There didn’t appear to be any drama here.
When Swanson and his new wife, Mallory, walked out onto the dirt at Wrigley Field, they had a moment.
“This is where we’re supposed to be,” they told one another.
But this was not Truist Park.
For the first time, somewhere else is home for Swanson.
