Rizzo impresses Yankees teammates with generous gifts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
During his time in Chicago, Anthony Rizzo was both a favorite among Cubs fans and inside the Cubs locker room. It’s not just that he was an incredible hitter, a Gold Glove fielder and a clutch performer. He was a friendly face and a leader. Rizzo can be described as a “glue guy.” Even when times are tough, he’s got the ability to rally a team together. In a short amount of time, it looks like he’s become that guy for the Yankees, too.
In a feature published on the Athletic, Rizzo earned major brownie points with his Yankees teammates on Opening Day for a couple of extremely thoughtful gestures. First, Rizzo bought all his teammates two bottles of wine valued at $600 total. Along with the extremely generous gift, Rizzo left a handwritten note for all his
“You go through spring training, and everyone is on their own different journey of how they got here,” said Rizzo via the Athletic. “Whether it’s a lot of Opening Days in a row or your first or somewhere in between. Just a little exciting thing for an exciting day. A fresh slate. Fresh opportunities. A lot of high hopes and dreams.”
The generosity of the gift, plus the sincerity of the notes meant a lot to Rizzo’s teammates.
“It goes along with the pageantry and the festivities of Opening Day,” said Gerrit Cole. “Brings a smile to everybody’s face. It’s Tony’s way of showing he cares. … It’s inspiring. He’s a great teammate, and he’s a great example to follow.”
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“I’m one of the younger guys, and you look up to guys like Rizzo and Big G (Giancarlo Stanton) and (Aaron) Judge and down that whole end of the locker room,” said reliever Ron Marinaccio. “Those are the guys you want to feel comfortable around the most. To see something like this, a handwritten card from one of them … it would be easy for somebody to go out and buy a gift for somebody. But to take time and then write a handwritten message as well, it means a lot to a younger player coming in.”
It’s a move Rizzo said he learned when he was a younger player in the Cubs organization. Guys like Jon Lester and Jason Heyward would be sure to commemorate Opening Day with generosity each year, and now Rizzo carries that forward.
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The Cubs traded Rizzo to the Yankees in 2021 when it became clear they weren’t going to re-sign him to a contract extension. In New York, Rizzo’s average has dipped a bit, but he’s remained as powerful a slugger as ever. This year, he’s been out to a hot start. In four games, Rizzo is slashing .333/.500/.667 with one home run and four RBI.
“That’s just who he is,” said Kyle Schwarber, who’s now with the Phillies. “He has an infectious personality. … Chicago had something special with him, and now New York gets to see what’s special with him, too.”
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