MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs took a couple seasons off, but they got back in the ballgame this winter, signing proven winner Dansby Swanson and a few other stars and former stars. The signing of Swanson didn’t come easily, however.
While Swanson seemed to make sense for the Cubs from the start since they sought an impact shortstop and his wife Mallory Swanson (formerly Mallory Pugh) is a standout player for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League. But Swanson didn’t see it that way. At least, not at the start.
“No,” Swanson said in answer to the question of whether he figured, like the rest of us, that the Cubs made sense all along.
“Truth be told, I wanted to win. I wasn’t sure this was the place,” Swanson said in Cubs camp.
Swanson, who eventually signed a $177 million, seven-year Cubs deal, reminds you a bit of Derek Jeter. He’s uber-focused on the bottom line, which is to him wins and losses. That being the case, the Cubs didn’t stack up to some other teams (many other teams) that were in the bidding. Cubs manager David Ross recalled that winning is all Swanson — a champion with both Vanderbilt and the Braves — talked about at their winter meeting.
“That’s all that really matters,” Swanson said who stepped up his game last year, when he posted a 5.7 WAR, won a Gold Glove in a league with several outstanding shortstops and hit 27 home runs, including one each in the key season-ending Mets series when the Braves won the division with a three-game sweep. “I don’t play for personal glory. It’s all about building something that’s bigger than you. It’s about the legacy of the team.”
He decided, eventually and after much deliberation, that the Cubs do have some positivity in their history. And as far as legacy building, Swanson determined, “This is a perfect place to do that.”
History tells you that the Cubs haven’t always been about winning (and you don’t have to tell Swanson about history, he did go to Vandy after all). The Cubs are about fun and likeability and sunshine and beer. (Did I say beer?) But while those things don’t matter much to Swanson, in the end he did what was predicted from the start: He became a Cub. He said he and Mallory prayed on it long and hard, and finally decided it could work. He thought about all the great players in Cubs history, and all the fine players they were bringing on board
“It’s a gut feeling,’ Swanson said. “it’s hard to explain.”
The Cubs are thrilled, and Ross summed it all up: “He’s a winner.”