Dansby Swanson On Possibility Of Leading Chicago Cubs To A World Series: ‘We're Going To Have A Good Chance'

Forbes

6 days ago

Dansby Swanson knows the Chicago Cubs have a legitimate chance of winning the World Series this season.
The 31-year-old shortstop has already previously won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves (in 2021). Not only does the two-time All-Star know what it takes to win one, he knows when a team has the ingredients to make a postseason run.
Entering Tuesday's game against the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs are 62-44, the second-best record in the National League.
"We're just a good baseball team," says Swanson in a one-on-one interview. "I think sometimes we can overlook just that. We have a deep lineup, we run the bases extremely well. Our defense is pretty freakin' top tier. Starting pitching has been consistent, the bullpen has been really good. We've been able to withstand some injuries on the pitching side, and we just have a great group that wants to win."
The Cubs are not only impressive when it comes to their record, they're a pretty good squad as a whole. Chicago leads the majors in runs and ranks in the top five for hits and batting average. It also doesn't hurt that the Cubs have two All-Stars in the batting lineup — Kyle Tucker and Pete-Crow Armstrong — along with Matthew Boyd. Boyd is coming off of his first All-Star selection and has a 2.47 ERA to go along with 11 wins. He ranks second in the National League in both categories.
"We're always spending time around one another, we just do a lot of things really, really well," says Swanson. "I think that with baseball and getting to play every day, when you can show up and do your job well every day it gives you a good chance to win."
The Cubs still have two months left in the regular season and they obviously need to finish the season strong in order to clinch their first playoff appearance since 2020. Swanson — who joined the team in 2023 — details what it takes to play well throughout a full 162-game season.
It's worth noting that when the Braves won the World Series in 2021, they had the fifth-best record in the National League.
"A lot of it is just mentality, just the being strong and tough mentally throughout a season is everything, you're going to get kind of dinged up from time to time," says Swanson. "There's going to be aches and pains that you're going through. There's going to be some slumps that you're going through, and it's really just about putting the uniform on and taking the field and finding a way to help the team win. I think it's it really is as simple as that. The more that you do it, your body -- in a way — kind of gets calloused over to it."
Swanson — who is actually from Georgia and grew up a fan of the Braves — says winning the World Series with the Braves was only a script that "God could write." The veteran shortstop grew up going to games at Turner Field.
"I feel like I've always had a pretty big imagination," says Swanson when asked if he ever imagined winning a championship with his hometown team. "I feel like I've always had a belief system that that would happen. It's a script that is something only I feel like God could write just doing it for your hometown team, and all those kinds of things that go with it. At the end of the day, that was a part of my story, and I'm very glad it is."
Swanson speaks glowingly of possibly winning a World Series in Chicago, which would be just the second time the Cubs have won the World Series since 1909. He calls the possibility "quite the feat."
"I just like to win," says Swanson when asked what his objective is this season. "That really is something that I value most, is the winning. I think that winning here in Chicago is really freaking cool. Wrigley has been so magical this whole season, just people are really, really into our games. The fan support's been pretty incredible. Obviously, bringing a championship back to Chicago would be quite the feat. It's hard to even fathom right now, just because of what the crowd would be like winning a championship here."
Swanson has played in 37 career postseason games and has made four playoff runs in his career. He's also won a College World Series while at Vanderbilt, becoming one of the few players in Major League Baseball who's won championships at both levels. There are just four active players who have done so.
He says that winning a World Series "might be" the hardest thing to do in sports.
"It might be the hardest thing there is to do in sports, just because of the way the series work, and it's about who can get hot at the right time," says Swanson. "There's just so many things that end up going your way. Every pitch is so meaningful. and sometimes the ball just bounces your way. In that season (in 2021), I feel like we started playing our best ball at the right time. There was a strong belief system within the group.
"I feel like right now, with where we're at in Chicago, we feel that we're in a good place to do something special," Swanson continues to say. 'We feel like the rest of the season is going to be a lot of fun, and we're going to have a good chance to do something pretty cool in October.'
While Swanson is busy trying to ensure the Cubs continue to win in their quest to win a World Series, he's partnering with Dairy Queen leading into Miracle Treat Day on July 31. For every Blizzard treat sold on Miracle Treat Day, $1 will be donated to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
The Cubs star – who can currently be seen in a Dairy Queen commercial with New York Mets star Francisco Lindor – has been partnered with the fast food chain since before the season started. He explains what led to him starring in the campaign.
"While growing up, my family were big fans of Dairy Queen," says Swanson. "We had one down the street from our house, and it was a symbol of a staple during the summer months, with it being so hot in Georgia. When I saw this opportunity present itself, it just made a ton of sense, something that was closely related to me and my family, and something that I could definitely get behind. With the Miracle Treat Day Stuff on the 31st of July, and what they're doing to give back to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, it was just a match made in heaven, and very, very grateful to be able to do my part and be a very small part of this. But I feel like there's just so much good that can come from it."