Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant's rise to stardom has been rapid. Drafted second overall in 2013, he was National League Rookie of the Year in 2015. Now he is in line to start at third for the N.L. in the All-Star Game this year. So it's clear that he'll be one of several big names to be admired by the next generation of baseball fans for years to come.
And 4-year-old Cubs fan Eli Hillenmeyer has already gotten a head start on his contemporaries.
Eli's father, Louis, posted this Twitter video showing how the youngster is literally brought to tears of joy when he gets a baseball card featuring Bryant:
Eli opens @toppscards stickers & gets his fav player @KrisBryant_23 @Cubs he is overcome with emotion pic.twitter.com/2Zfo3RBIWN
— Louie Hillenmeyer (@LHillenmeyer) June 29, 2016
It's probably fair to assume that the 4-year-old doesn't yet use Twitter. But if he did, he might have been even more overjoyed by the class and humility Bryant showed when acknowledging Louis' video:
Love this!! Thanks for sharing! https://t.co/7bfZwcvM37
— Kris Bryant (@KrisBryant_23) June 30, 2016
Bryant's play on the field this season has been more than worthy of such a reaction from Hillenmeyer, as he currently ranks second in the NL in home runs and third in RBI for the team with baseball's best record. Barring a wild last-minute comeback in the polls from Nolan Arenado, Bryant will start in the All-Star Game on July 12.
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