Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season. |
CHICAGO – Mornings are a special time for Dansby Swanson when he is at home in Chicago right now. That is when anything that happened at the field – good, bad or in between – fades away. It is when he sees his young daughter, Josie, light up and hears her laugh when he starts speaking. “You come down in the morning,” Swanson said, “and when she hears my voice, that’s how she connects with me, that’s how she knows me. And she goes nuts. Just seeing her smile – or right now, getting videos and pictures of her at the playground and having fun being on the swings – it’s just a reminder of how amazing of a life we have and how fortunate I am to be her dad.” This will be Swanson’s first Father’s Day after he and his wife, Mallory, welcomed their daughter to their family in November. The Cubs are planning a family day at the ballpark this weekend, giving the Swansons a chance to celebrate the holiday together with his teammates and their families. Swanson said that will be a special day for his family, but really, being a new dad has given him a perspective shift on a daily basis this season. Swanson will be the first to admit that this season with the Cubs has not gone as he hoped – in the batter’s box, in particular – but his growing family has helped him stay grounded. |
“In a way,” Swanson said, “it almost exposes how sometimes I still can get really fixated and bring work home with me, you know? It’s such a humble reminder that work can be left at work. It’s being home and being very present in Josie’s life – fully being there – not holding her up and still thinking about why I didn’t swing at a certain pitch. “Being fully present with her every day is a humble reminder of how amazing it is to be able to go home to a beautiful wife and baby girl. Seeing them smile, all of it, it’s about as good as it gets. It’s hard to really explain.” Swanson is very open about his Christian faith and said that has also helped him focus on his blessings, while continuing to remain diligent with his daily work with the Cubs. He views his skills on a baseball field as using the gifts he was given, while also recognizing that his family is also something to be grateful for every day. Maintaining that mindset has helped him through this year’s struggles on the field. “This year’s been hard, man,” Swanson said. “It’s just the batter’s box that has been really, really not what I was anticipating it being, right? But at the end of the day, that’s why you just continue to show up and truly be who you were called to be.” |
And while Father’s Day puts Swanson in the spotlight for his family, he was quick to rave about how his wife has balanced motherhood with returning to the soccer pitch. Mallory made her comeback with Chicago Stars FC in May and scored her first goal after having Josie in her second game back on the field. “Her determination and her sacrifice, she’s an inspiration for me,” Swanson said. “Not only to get back on the field, but to do it at a high level. And just having seen all the work that got to that point. It’s remarkable. I got to see all the moments that it took to get there. And I’ve seen it before with her. “But it’s just another moment where she just continues to blow me away, just with who she is, how she handles herself, her determination. Nothing stops her, man. It’s pretty amazing.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Cubs righty Ben Brown has a 1.74 ERA through 62 innings so far this season. Who was the last Cubs pitcher to end a first half with a sub-2.00 ERA in at least 60 innings? A) Kyle Hendricks B) Jake Arrieta C) Greg Maddux D) Willie Hernandez |
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MEMORABLE DAD-DUDE ROAD TRIP |
In the spirit of Father’s Day coming up, one of my goals as a dad has been to find ways to create some lasting memories with my kids. During the Cubs’ last road trip, I had the chance to bring my 16-year-old son along for the ride through Denver and San Francisco. We drove to the top of Pikes Peak and visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado. We walked through Muir Woods and checked off a lot of sightseeing boxes around San Francisco. He also got to attend a handful of ballgames. Maybe my favorite memory from the trip, though, was during a morning tour of Alcatraz. We paused the audio tour to head out into the historic prison’s recreation yard. There are bases where baseball games were once played, and my son and I had our gloves in my backpack. For a few minutes, we played catch on the overgrown field – the sound of the ball popping into the gloves echoing off the walls. Talk about an amazing Father’s Day gift. |
• PCA pulls off the first reverse cycle in Cubs history. Read more >>
• A look back at all 13 cycles in Cubs’ history book. Read more >> • Swanson's much-needed homer sparks win over Rockies. Read more >>
• RF pole helps PCA homer for third straight game. Read more >> • Cubs notch ninth walk-off win in comeback vs. Rockies. Read more >>
• Cabrera exits latest outing with cramping in right hand. Read more >>
• Palencia lands on IL due to right elbow inflammation. Read more >> |
“He’s had three or four nights this year already that he’s kind of put us on his back. And [Monday] night was another one. This is fun to watch when he gets locked in like this. He has ups and downs like everyone, but the shape of what he’s doing now, it feels more sustainable.” – Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, on Crow-Armstrong |
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B) Jake Arrieta During the 2014 season, Arrieta spun a 1.95 ERA in 13 starts (78 1/3 innings). Arrieta, Ryan Dempster (1.99 ERA in 2014), Hernandez (1.94 ERA in 1977), Bruce Sutter (1.11 ERA in 1977) and Ted Abernathy (1.84 ERA in 1965) are the most recent five Cubs pitchers to achieve this specific feat. |
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