Newly signed Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson shared an emotional story during his introductory press conference in Chicago on Wednesday.
While many fans wondered if Swanson’s wife, Red Stars forward Mallory Pugh, was the main reason for the shortstop’s move up north, Swanson shared there’s another: his grandfather.
“I pretty much mentioned to everyone, like being a Cub means more to me than people would realize,” Swanson started. “It’s no secret I left my hometown team to be here. I kept telling everyone that it’s more personal to me.”
While telling the story, Swanson warned the crowd that he might cry.
The former Brave said while he was growing up, he would visit his grandfather after school and there would always be a Cubs game on TV, even though they lived in Georgia and Atlanta was considered their home team.
“Every day when I would come home from school, I would run up to his house, I’d run in and pretty much demand that he’d come outside and hit me ground balls, which he would always do. But, every time I’d walk in, he’d have a Cubs game on back when it was on WGN.”
Swanson’s grandfather died on Dec. 11, one day after Swanson and Pugh’s wedding ceremony. The shortstop admitted he “felt called to” move to Chicago to fulfill his grandfather’s dreams.
“Having won a championship in Atlanta for one of his 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. “So, to be able to play for two of my grandfather’s two favorite teams means literally the world to me.”
Swanson signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs on Dec. 17, just days after his grandfather’s death.
