The batting average and slugging percentage may not be where Dansby Swanson would like them through the first half of the season. But as the calendar turns to July, the switch on the power numbers has been flipped.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports & faith connect <<
The Chicago Cubs shortstop has five home runs and 11 RBIs the last two games, punctuated by a three-homer, eight-RBI game on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. He capped that off with a grand slam in the eighth inning for his third home run of the day. Through the first 70 games, he had seven home runs and 28 RBIs. He’s already surpassed both numbers over the past 13 games with nine home runs and 29 RBIs.
He was hitting .195 going into Tuesday’s game, but his average is up to .210 now, and he’s more than halfway (16 and 57) to his home run and RBI totals from last season (24 and 77). The Cubs have won nine of their last 10 games and are 5.5 games back from the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central standings.
GRAND SLAM. DANSBY SWANSON. pic.twitter.com/SMX9EPHX0b
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 1, 2026
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Swanson said on the Cubs broadcast after the game. “I don’t really have any words for it, other than just I’m incredibly grateful. That’s the only thing that can really come to my mind — just incredibly grateful.”
The No. 1 pick in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, Swanson is in his fourth season with the Cubs after playing seven seasons with the Atlanta Braves, with whom he won the 2021 World Series. He was named an All-Star and won the Gold Glove Award in 2022 and 2023, his last season with the Braves and first with the Cubs.
Though he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Kennesaw, Georgia, native ended up with his childhood-favorite team when he was traded to the Braves in December 2015. He made his debut and played 38 games for the Braves in 2016 before eventually helping lead them to a World Series win.
Being from Georgia, that experience meant even more to him.
“Destiny, I guess,” Swanson told Fox Sports after winning the World Series. “The good Lord, He’s blessed me so much. I wouldn’t be here without Him. Just the peace that He gives me, it’s remarkable. Especially in moments like this, you can never go wrong trusting in that. I’m just so thankful to be here.”
But Swanson entered free agency following the 2022 season, and the Braves elected to let him walk. Instead, he signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs. Though it wasn’t his childhood team, there was still some emotional pull to the move — the Cubs were his late grandfather’s team. He passed away about a week before Swanson signed.
And just a day before his grandfather’s passing, Swanson married professional soccer player Mallory Pugh, who has played for the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL since 2021. Swanson said they spent time in prayer together to discern where he should sign.
Whether it’s been in Atlanta or Chicago, Swanson has been vocal about his faith during the highs and lows of his career. He knows the struggles will come regardless of how strong his faith in God is, but he said it’s that faith that helps him navigate the times where baseball — and life — is tough.
“We assume — and it’s such a worldly view and such a cultural thing — that if we’re at peace with ourselves and we’re at peace with our relationship with God, then everything in life will just be hunky-dory and it will all work out,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in 2022. “That’s what we think … I’m reminding myself of this too, but that’s such a wrong way to look at it.
“At the end of the day, our purpose is to serve God and ultimately to bring a Heaven-like view to wherever we are on earth and allow Him to do the light shining — to allow Him to use our platform for what it’s supposed to be used for. You can do that and still not play well, but we’re just so wrapped up in if we don’t play well, what does it matter?”
"At the end of the day, our purpose is to serve God."
Join us today on the podcast with @Braves SS Dansby Swanson for a conversation about the lesson God has taught him this year.
Listen now on Apple & Spotify@LieutenantDans7 https://t.co/cQRm8oIJyJ pic.twitter.com/F0X0CRJFw2
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) January 31, 2022
Swanson’s faith has always been a part of who he is as a person and an athlete, but he noticed growth during that 2021 season, when he recalibrated his relationship with God and prioritized his mental health. He said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast before the 2021 season that his growth came down to him trusting in God and giving his worries to Him.
“If anything, the lesson that I’ve learned was that you can’t go wrong trusting and growing closer to God,” Swanson said. “Whatever way that works for you is what works for you. But spend time with God. Legitimately spend time in the words that He wrote through people that were on this earth. Spend time in prayer and meditation and silence. Do these things to grow near to Him.”
Swanson will look to stay hot at the plate Friday, when the Cubs begin a three-game series in Chicago against St. Louis.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Dansby Swanson, Mallory Pugh impact ‘God’s Kingdom together’
— Dansby Swanson makes 1st All-Star team, thankful for God’s path
— SS PODCAST: Braves’ Dansby Swanson on winning World Series
— Dansby Swanson helps hometown Braves win World Series
— Tommy Edman back with Dodgers with eyes ‘ fully set on God’
