Kris Bryant’s wonderful life: World Series champion starting his career at the top
LAS VEGAS - Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and his wife, Jessica, pull up in their white Jeep, slowly walk around the building, stop, and stare at the new mural in the shadows of the Las Vegas Strip.
There’s a picture of Bryant, wearing his Bonanza High School baseball uniform, with a listing of his accomplishments on the front entrance door.
The USA TODAY High School All America first team. NCAA Collegiate All-American. The 2016 National League MVP. The 2015 NL Rookie of the Year. The 2016 Hank Aaron Award. And listed at the bottom, his ultimate accomplishment: 2016 World Series champion.
They walk inside the school cafeteria, and there’s a trophy case of Bonanza High’s most famous graduates. The entire left side of the case is reserved for Bryant, stuffed with memorabilia, everything from his high school days to the Cubs, including a swizzle stick with a cardboard picture of Bryant’s face.
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“Look at that,’’ says Jessica, giggling, “it almost looks like he died or something.’’
They look at each other, and Bryant clutches her hand, two newlyweds - married last month in Las Vegas - trying to comprehend the dramatic events that have happened in their lives.
It doesn’t seem that long ago, they say, when they first met in a ninth-grade math class. He was the high school baseball star who went to the University of San Diego, wanting to be a dentist. She was the student body president who went to UNLV and graduated with a psychology degree.
Now, here they are, baseball’s newest and brightest celebrity couple, trying to digest one of the most spectacular winters any ballplayer has ever experienced.
Bryant, the shy and humble kid who would rather eat takeout and watch Netflix than catch a show on the Vegas Strip, looks at the baseball resume with just two years of experience and has difficulty believing it’s actually his own.
From Rookie of the Year to All-Star to World Series champion to NL MVP to the couches of Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel Live, the text from Peyton Manning, the congratulatory wedding shout-out from President Obama and the purchase of a first home - yeah, it’s been a good year.
“I hear it all of the time now,’’ Bryant tells USA TODAY Sports, laughing. “People say, 'You had a pretty good career in two years.'
“I tell them, 'Yeah, I guess it can only go downhill from here.’
“Really, I couldn’t be in a more perfect situation.’’
Year 3 begins in earnest Saturday with the first full-squad workout in Mesa, Ariz., for spring training.
His third act follows an almost unprecedented feat: Only Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia previously won Rookie and MVP honors and a World Series in their first two seasons.
If you include that he was the Minor League Player of the Year in 2014 and the Golden Spikes Award winner as the top collegiate player in 2013, the list is dwindled to one name: Bryant.
“You can’t put Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle or anybody else in that sentence right there,’’ says Mike Bryant, who still gives batting lessons to his son at their home batting cage. “I’ll say that to anybody five times in a row. I’ll hit them over head with it. You realize the magnitude of that statement?
“It’s absolutely amazing. I’m so freaking proud of him.’’
It’s still so early, and Bryant just celebrated his 25th birthday, yet it’s also not premature to raise perhaps the ultimate comparison: Derek Jeter.
Like the New York Yankees legend who won a World Series in his first full season, Bryant is a corporate sponsor’s dream with his stardom, striking looks and clean-cut image.
He’s already a corporate sponsor for Adidas, Red Bull and Rawlings, does magazine-style shoots for Express and in November signed the most lucrative Topps baseball card deal in company history.
“If I had a career like Derek Jeter, both individually and as a team, especially how he carried himself, you can’t get better than that,” Bryant says. “That’s the guy everyone looks up to in terms of the whole package. Just a great guy altogether.
“Hopefully I’ll get a chance to meet him one day too.’’
While Jeter, now 42, did not get married until last summer, Bryant takes to a far more homebody lifestyle. That doesn’t mean fame doesn’t create challenges.
A year ago, he could walk all around Las Vegas, and no one would say a word, maybe just a nod and a smile.
Now, ever since winning the World Series and the MVP, it’s as if he’s Frank Sinatra back on the Strip. He and Jessica recently tried to go furniture shopping at RC Willey’s in Summerlin, only to cause nearly a stampede of shoppers rushing toward him for autographs.
“Furniture shopping? Who knew?’’ Bryant said, looking at Jessica in disbelief.
Forget dining out. Bryant and Jessica barely even bother in Chicago. They stay downtown in a high-rise condo rental, complete with a 24-hour doorman, trying to protect the little privacy that remains in their lives.
“I don’t know if he’ll ever allow himself to grow that big and become THE face of baseball,’’ Cubs President Theo Epstein said. “He’s great at managing all aspects of his life, and I don’t think he loves all of the attention. So he may manage it in a way where he doesn’t become the face of baseball. It will be interesting to see how that evolves.
“He definitely understands the responsibility of being one of the best players in the game, but he’s not an attention grabber. He’s not a big talker. He doesn’t go out partying or drinking.
“He just understands what makes him tick, what makes him happy, and he focuses on those things. He’s not going to change who he is. Nothing will ever get him out of his comfort zone.’’
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“I’ve known him for 11 years,’’ Jessica says, “and I can probably count on one hand how many times he’s been mad.’’
Yet Bryant is more obsessive about conquering baseball.
He hit 39 home runs with 102 RBI and scored a league-leading 121 runs last season but was upset that he hit .292 and not .300. He might have had a magical season, but he worked out three hours a day at his dad’s hitting cage, vowing to drive the ball the opposite way this year.
“In baseball, I find myself mad all of the time,’’ Bryant says, “but not where I show it. It’s not something anyone can see. I just think there’s a right way to handle it.
“Besides, there’s not much for me to get mad about right now. Look how fortunate I am for the things in life. I get to play baseball for a living. When you see what other people are dealing with every day, it puts things in perspective for me.’’
If you ask his dad, Bryant was born to be a big-league ballplayer. Mike Bryant knew his younger son would be a major league player the first time he swung the bat. The first pitch he ever threw him, Kris, swinging a 31-ounce bat, launched the ball into the outfield with a perfect swing. Bryant sensed he had a future in baseball by high school, hitting 41 home runs, and being better than anyone else his age.
Despite his exploits, Bryant still went relatively unnoticed. All the attention and notoriety was on the kid on the other side of town, Bryce Harper, who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16.
“Kris was dominating the competition from the time he was 8,’’ Mike Bryant says, “but he was very quiet, very underassuming. I mean, Kris was hitting homers when he was 8. But when Harper hit one when he was 8, it was a national holiday.
“Bryce is a sweetheart, but he has taken a lot of bashing for the wrong reasons. Who doesn’t want to put their kids first, but I don’t know if you want to have your own at the cover of SI at that age. He had to grow with a big red spot on him. Most guys don’t survive that.’’
Bryant and Harper were never close growing up on the opposite sides of town, but these days they consider themselves friends. They attended each other’s weddings, with Kayla and Bryce Harper’s nuptials in December at the San Diego Mormon Temple and the Bryants on Jan. 7 at the Las Vegas J.W. Marriott. The couples will hang out occasionally, and they frequently text one another, offering encouragement or sending congratulatory notes during the season.
“I was at her bridal shower,’’ Jessica Bryant says, “and Bryce walked in and says, 'Hey, Miss World Series champion.’ They are great people. They’re so happy with all of our success. They’re always rooting for us, and we’re rooting for them. Two hometown guys who are genuinely happy for one another.’’
Still, while everyone talks about their ridiculous talent and work ethic, Bryant has a different theory. He believes there’s almost a spiritual force behind his success. It’s much more powerful than his baseball ability.
“I’m a big believer in good karma and bad karma,’’ Bryant says. “I believe in telling the truth, being a good person and treating people with respect. If you do that, good things happen to you.
“I really believe that’s why I’m having the success I have.’’
The pattern started early. He listened to teammates’ parents complaining about their sons' playing time in Little League, so he volunteered to be the DH. He was offered the chance to be the salutatorian at his senior graduation but passed, saying it would mean more to the immigrant in his class.
Recalls Mike Bryant: “He said, Dad, I’ve got my college scholarship. This is more important to her. I’m just not going to do it.’’
Says Jessica: “That’s Kris. He truly believes that if you are kind to people, it will come back tenfold.’’
Even if it means a compromise or two in their new house. They just hauled over most of Bryant’s trophies and awards from his parents’ house, placing them temporarily in the formal living room. Kris thought it would be a perfect place to put a bookcase to store all of his prized hardware. Jessica had other ideas and has set aside a trophy room where it can go.
“She overruled me on that one,’’ Bryant said, laughing, “but I did order a replica World Series trophy. And we’re putting that right when you walk into the front door. We’re getting a table there and putting that trophy right on top of it where everyone can see.
“That’s the only thing I really want in the whole house.’’
Well, except getting a matching World Series trophy at the end of this year and perhaps a few more along the way while playing in Chicago for the rest of his career.
Bryant, who made $652,000 last season, isn’t eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2018 season and won’t be a free agent until 2022. There’s plenty of time for long-term contract discussions. But after what he’s experienced his first two years in Chicago, he knows where he’d like to stay.
“Honestly, I try not to put too much in thought in the whole money side of it,’’ Bryant says, “but it’s hard. It’s in your face every day.
“I can say Chicago is an unbelievable place to play. And I don’t know any big-leaguer who wouldn’t want to play for the Chicago Cubs. We’re just having a whole lot more shorter offseasons now.
“You know something, I could get pretty used to that.’’
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