Cubs' Jay celebrates new contract, new daughters
Forgive Jon Jay if things seem a blur to him.
After all, he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Chicago Cubs this week. Oh, and while that news was being made, his wife was giving birth to twin girls.
"It was a crazy day to say the least, a day I'll never forget," Jay said Thursday as he talked with Chicago media on a conference call. "I got done with my workout. My wife and I were actually looking to get a new car because I was going to get rid of my little sports car and get a dad-mobile.
"We had just finished there and the doctor called saying we had to come to the hospital after they did her labs and whatnot, that she was starting to have contractions. We were on our way to the hospital actually when the deal got announced. It's been a kind of surreal 24 hours."
Off the field, Jay is going to be doubly busy as a dad. On the field, the Cubs expect him to be busy in center field, sharing time with youngster Albert Almora as well as seeing time at the other two outfield spots.
The name of a certain "Grandpa" came up in the recent days, too, as Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer invoked the name of catcher David "Grandpa" Ross, a vocal team leader who retired after the Cubs won the World Series. Hoyer said he likes Jay's personality and leadership qualities.
"Everyone knows what David Ross meant to the Chicago organization and just to baseball in general," Jay said. "The guy's a class act. He brings more to the baseball field than just the leadership aspect of the game. It's an honor to be mentioned with Ross, Grandpa Ross. I just hope I can bring some leadership to this team, just be part of this group of guys."
The Cubs signed Jay as the likely replacement to Dexter Fowler in center field. Fowler is likely to leave via free agency this winter. Jay already has a good relationship with Almora, as both are from the Miami area.
In an injury-interrupted season this year with San Diego, Jay had a line of .291/.339/.389 in 90 games. He was with St. Louis from 2010-15, and he has a lifetime line of .287/.352/.384 with 31 home runs. He has played in 42 games at Wrigley Field, going 41-for-138 (. 297).
"I love Wrigley Field," he said. "I went to the University of Miami and grew up going to the Orange Bowl, and I've always compared Wrigley Field to the Orange Bowl as far as the nostalgia and the history and just that feeling of being at a real ballpark. I love playing there."
Jay was on the Cardinals' 2011 world-championship team. He watched the Cubs grow into World Series winners this year, and he knows something about the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry.
"I saw everything change as soon as Theo (team presdent Epstein) got over there, with the acquisitions, with the draft picks," he said. "I think it all started with Anthony Rizzo, somebody I always kept a close eye on, too, because he's from South Florida as well, just watching him develop. You could always see the potential the organization had. That showed in 2015. When I was a member of the Cardinals, they beat us (in the division series), and we had a pretty good team that year. You could just see how the future was bright."