When it comes to the Chicago media, they are going to give Dansby Swanson every opportunity to talk about how much more he loves the Windy City over his previous home in Atlanta. It’s what their fans want to read about, and they also know it can get clicks from easily upset Braves fans that may not entirely be over the breakup.
About a week ago, Swanson took a dig at Atlanta fans, saying professional sports are just a much bigger deal in Chicago. Now, he’s making sure everyone is aware that he doesn’t regret his decision to leave the Braves at all.
“I’ve believed that ever since Day 1,” Swanson said, via The Athletic. “My wife and I prayed about it a lot. When that was answered, I haven’t regretted one ounce of it. I feel very convicted in being here. Chicago is where we felt led to be. I’ve learned to trust the big man’s plan more than my own. Every time I’ve had a big change in my life, it’s worked out for the better. Getting traded to Atlanta was an amazing thing for me. That’s how I met my wife. I just know that this is where we’re supposed to be.”
Swanson is going to say this stuff regardless of whether he means it or not. He has a new fan base to win over, so there’s no reason to take anything else from these types of statements. They will happen throughout the entire year and perhaps even longer than that.
The reality of the situation is the Braves didn’t value Swanson the way many other teams did. They never budged from their initial $100 million offer. The Cubs came in $77 million higher, and his wife currently plays soccer in Chicago. Of course, he decided to leave and has no regrets.
The Braves made it easy for him, and as an Atlanta fan, I’m very happy with the decision by Alex Anthopoulos and company. I think Vaughn Grissom has the potential to be a comparable player, and they will be paying him 20 times less than what they would have had to pay Swanson. Grissom has the potential to be one of the better bargains in baseball if he performs like he is capable.
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Photo: Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire
Intelligent people understand everything mentioned about why he is going to say these things, people with more intelligence don’t really care because they know he was not worth more than the $100 million the Braves offered. He may have 1 or 2 more seasons comparable to 2022 but I dare say he will regress after that.
Good luck to him, thanks for the memories and enjoy Chicago.
Also imo, his continued reference to an imaginary being shows some serious emotional and mental weakness as it applies to real world things. After all, you cannot believe something without also having doubt about it.