CLEVELAND — Two days after scoring the gold medal-winning goal for the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Mallory Swanson sat in a golf cart outside the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field, a slightly less glamorous locale than the Paris Olympics.
Mallory was there to meet up with her husband, Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, after Monday night’s game. It’s both a drab waiting area and the same spot where so many euphoric friends and family gathered after the final out of the 2016 World Series.
If it’s not quite going to Disney World, it’s still the unique path that they’ve chosen. The next day, the Swansons were spotted riding scooters around the downtown streets, a scene reminiscent of the classic Joakim Noah quote from the era when the Chicago Bulls tangled with LeBron James: “I never heard anybody say, ‘I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.’”
This seemed like a good time for The Athletic to catch up with Dansby on current events.
Going for gold
The Cubs were watching on the TVs in the Wrigley Field clubhouse last year when Mallory suffered a major knee injury that would keep her sidelined during the Women’s World Cup. That disappointment helped fuel this comeback.
Dansby: The whole story is just truly God written. For the team, it’s that story of a new coach (Emma Hayes) and a group that grinded it out and played six games in 17 days, which is insane for soccer. The toughness that they showed, the resiliency, the grit, all those words (apply). Especially the year after they had such a poor finish, by their standards, in the World Cup. There are just so many amazing moments and stories within these last few weeks. It’s been pretty freaking awesome to be a part of it from afar.
That team has always had a lot of inspiration (and focus) on younger generations, especially with the way soccer is growing in America. They understand how important they are as role models and take that seriously. Having gotten to know a decent bit of that team, they’re such awesome people. Combining that with the performance makes it even better.
Baseball at the 2028 Los Angeles Games
In four years, the sport will return to the Olympics. Some of the game’s biggest stars have already expressed an interest in participating. There are still many hurdles that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association will have to clear, but there is a sense of momentum.
Dansby: That’s so far in the future, man. I hadn’t put any thought into that. I don’t have enough creativity to come up with what a legitimate schedule could look like to maximize a major-league season and an Olympic season. If you did group stage/pool play for three straight days and then you advance — kind of like soccer does — it could be in a 10-day window. There’s a lot of traction to this. It would be a cool thing for a lot of people.
Guys are intrigued and interested by the potential of it. There’s a lot more guys that have seen it and experienced a little bit of the World Baseball Classic. What could it look like when everyone’s actually in shape for the season? Could you imagine how awesome and how much better the product could be?
The moves at the trade deadline
Given how much time the Swansons spend in Chicago, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer once joked that he offered Dansby an office — on the condition that the shortstop with the $177 million contract would have to wear khakis to Wrigley Field’s administrative building every day. That was a dealbreaker.
Dansby was noticeably quiet around a trade deadline that saw the Cubs flip reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the New York Yankees for prospects and acquire All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes in the Christopher Morel trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dansby: No, we didn’t really have any conversation. I didn’t feel like it was really my place to say anything. It’s funny because last year I was the opposite. But this year, instilling belief in this group and focusing on what we have in front of us was really important to me. Jed did a really good job of doing what he kind of said he was going to do. Initially, the reaction across the board when he says, “Hey, we’re going to focus on the future,” everyone’s like: “Oh, we’re punting on the year.” No, no, he was able to improve us immediately with lasting impact.
Playoffs?
The Cubs are 59-62 after back-to-back one-run losses against a solid Guardians team. Their remaining schedule is manageable. The team has played appreciably better since the Fourth of July. The lineup has solidified with the addition of Paredes. The bullpen is in good shape even without Leiter. The rotation remains a strength.
Dansby: You’ve started to see us forming an identity and everyone buying into that and doing their part. Belief is a powerful thing. We’re in a really good spot with that. All you can do from here on out is just keep plugging away each and every day. We’re giving ourselves a chance. Fricking four or five days ago, it was like six games back. And then all of a sudden, it’s like three (heading into this week). You just keep creeping up.
In memoriam
Mike Brumley, a former Cubs player and hitting coach, died in a car crash in June. During the later stages of a long baseball career, Brumley served as a minor-league hitting coordinator for the Atlanta Braves and a private hitting instructor. Dansby cited Brumley as a major figure in his development into a shortstop who could hit for power and help anchor Atlanta’s 2021 World Series team. Still a Gold Glove defender, Dansby is finding his swing again and gradually moving back toward being a league-average hitter. Brumley is the guy he would call during slumps.
Dansby: It crushed me. I was still working with him. He would come into town every few weeks. We would talk on the phone all the time. I credit him with so much of the success in my career. On a personal level, it’s pretty devastating. I don’t handle loss well, especially with someone that I respected as much as him. It was really, really difficult, especially during stretches where I felt a little bit lost … I felt lost with where I was at. The person you kind of trusted the most was no longer able to talk to you. That was so hard. I’ve had some sleepless nights about it. And I’ve cried plenty about it.
(Top photo of Dansby and Mallory Swanson: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
