Chicago Cubs: Three Kris Bryant fun facts you might not know

There has been so much written about Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant it’s a wonder these little fun facts haven’t gotten more attention.

If there is one Chicago Cub that has had plenty of press this season, it’s Kris Bryant. During the now-famous ‘Bryant grievance hearings,’ sportswriters combed over every part of the young super star’s rise to fame and glory.  Why am I telling you all of this? It’s not easy to uncover anything new about Chicago’s young, most written about MVP. Bryant die-hard fans will most likely know all of these, but for the every day Cub fan, here are a few cool Bryant fun things you may not have heard before.

Almost everyone knows about the close relationship Bryant has with his father, Mike Bryant. Kris never got to see his dad play professionally because Mike played in 1980-81, during which time the Boston Red Sox drafted him in the 9th round of the 1980 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, according to Baseball-Reference.

Kris wasn’t born until 1992, almost 10 years after Mike’s career ended. However, here’s the cool unknown fact: when Mike was a minor league player, he attended a couple of big-league camps during his spring training time. At that time, ‘The Kid,’ legendary ball-striker Ted Williams was making the rounds of these camps and coached Mike Bryant on hitting techniques. Kris told the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kirk Kenney back in his college days:

"“His hitting coach was actually Ted Williams,” said Kris, “so he’s taught me a lot of what (Williams) taught him.”"

It probably was just the type of student Williams was looking for: young, rookie and playing for the Red Sox. Although Mike Bryant never saw his personal dream manifest itself in his time on the field, he finally got to see his hard work come to fruition through his son Kris. If you’re ever wondering what the legacy of that fine-tuned Bryant swing is, now you know that it came in part, from one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Ted Williams.

The swing that science analyzed before all others and led to the teaching of rotational mechanics is pound for pound Kris Bryant’s ancestor-swing from Red Sox legend, Ted Williams. Although I’ll bet Williams never had a training area like the one Bryant has set up in his house as we look at the following fun fact about Kris Bryant – his home practice area.