The Colorado Rockies are playing against the Chicago Cubs on Monday afternoon.
The Cubs are 1-2 to open the season, and the Rockies are 1-3.
The game is important because it can represent the start of a turnaround for one of the squads.
However, it also has a sense of nostalgia to it.
It marks the return of slugger Kris Bryant to Wrigley Field, the park that saw him achieve everything in a Cubs uniform from 2015 to 2021.
Fans present at the game recognized Bryant’s efforts, and gave him a standing ovation when he came to bat, via Marquee Sports Network.
Kris Bryant receives a standing ovation pic.twitter.com/kPoorVcqP2
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 1, 2024
The player acknowledged the crowd and soaked in all the applause, smiling in the process.
With the Cubs, Bryant won the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year award and the 2016 NL MVP award, not to mention becoming a World Series champion and breaking an excruciatingly long drought.
He was a four-time All-Star in Chicago, and people just don’t forget that easily.
In six-and-a-half seasons in Chicago, Bryant hit a cool .279/.378/.508 with 160 home runs and a .886 OPS.
Shoulder injuries and other ailments have stopped him in recent seasons after he signed a seven-year deal with the Rockies.
For example, he had a thoroughly disappointing .680 OPS last year with the Rockies, in 80 games.
In 10 at-bats prior to Monday’s game, he has yet to log a base hit this season in Colorado.
Now 32 years old and with a significant injury history, it’s probably safe to say his best years are behind him.
Those years were (happily) spent with a perennial contender: the Cubs of the 2010s.
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