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Knox Bregman is already blown away by the Windy City.
The son of MLB All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman got the warmest welcome to Chicago when dad was introduced to the media after signing a five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs.
“Dad! Mom! Daddy!,” the 3-year-old, decked out in a Cubs hat and jersey, shrieked upon arriving at Wrigley Field and seeing mascot Clark the Cub.
At Alex’s urging — “Give him a hug!” — he ran over to Clark for an embrace.
Knox will get more than the memories, though, as Clark brought him a backpack, as well as one for 9-month-old brother Bennett, who had other priorities in the moment.
“Brother is just eating a Cubs baseball right now,” Alex told onlookers.
Cubs faithful hope the elder Bregman can also feast on some fastballs during his stay. The 31-year-old is one of the offseason’s biggest signings coming off a season in which he slashed .273/.360/.462 for the Red Sox in his lone year in Boston.
The two-time World Series winner comes to town with a career .272 batting average, 209 home runs, 725 RBIs and a 43.1 WAR.
In addition to the change in scenery, Bregman will also change his number. The infielder, who wore No. 2 after being selected by the Astros second overall in the 2015 draft — behind now-teammate Dansby Swanson — will leave the digit to Nico Hoerner and take No. 3.
“I’m a winning baseball player and focused on winning,” he told reporters. “I know that the Cubs organization is focused on winning. I’m looking forward to ding that and winning a championship here.”
Some extra family time with Clark probably wouldn’t hurt, either.
