Chicago Cubs infielder Kris Bryant made some serious waves earlier this year with his critical comments about the city of St. Louis, and on Friday he’ll step into enemy territory for the first time as his team takes on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The game will mark the first contest the Cubs have played in St. Louis this season, and although Bryant and the Cubs are focused on the important work of winning games against a divisional rival, Bryant is anticipating a less-than-friendly welcome at the ballpark:
“Of course it’s not going to be great,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I was watching Manny Machado get booed by the Yankees (fans). I hope they boo all of us. We want the games to be a nice rivalry, intense. It’s always nice to play there, because there’s a ton of people there, and a lot of our fans show up too, so it makes it fun.”
At Cubs Convention in January, Bryant was participating in an interview with former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster when he called the city of St. Louis “boring,” drawing the ire of Cardinals fans and players alike.
“Who would want to play in St. Louis? Boring. So boring,” he said in the conversation. “I always get asked ‘where would you like to play? Where would you not like to play?’ St. Louis is on the list of places I don’t like to play. It’s rough.”
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was one of the players that didn’t appreciate the comments, saying that only “stupid players and losers” make comments like the ones Bryant made.
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After he made the comments and throughout the season, Bryant has insisted he was just kidding, and he’s optimistically hoping that St. Louis fans have realized his comments were made in jest.
“I was just joking and having a good time,” he said. “Maybe they’ll treat it the same way.”
Bryant was also asked whether he felt the need to apologize to Molina or reach out to him, and he dismissed the idea.
“No, I haven’t (reached out),” he said. “I don’t hate the guy.”
Bryant will likely get a taste of the Cardinals’ fans distaste early in the game, as he typically bats in the first inning of contests.
h/t to Richard Justice of MLB.com for the footage of Bryant’s interview
