Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is celebrating his 25th birthday today so I thought it would only be right to celebrate this occasion by sharing what I believe are the top five Kris Bryant GIFs on the World Wide Web.
Bryant is coming off his best season as a pro and is backing up all the hype that surrounded him when he entered the league back in 2015. The soft spoken kid from Las Vegas has turned into one of the premiere players in all of baseball and I'm damn happy that the Houston Astros passed up on Bryant in the 2013 MLB draft with the first overall pick for a guy named Mark Appel.
Shame on you Astros.
KB will be marrying his high school sweetheart, Jessica Delp, at the end of the month so because I can't afford to send the couple a real present, I thought I'd slap a ribbon on this article and wish them a lifetime of happiness.
And I'm cheap.
5. KB Showing Off His Best "Blue Steel" Look
Coming in at the number 5 best Kris Bryant GIF is the Cubs All-Star doing something that has absolutely nothing to do with baseball -- modeling. Since his arrival to the Cubs in 2015, major businesses have rushed to get Bryant to sign with them because lets face it, the guy's pretty good looking. Between his endorsements, merchandise, and salary, Bryant's 2016 net worth was right around $4.1 million dollars.
Not too bad for a 25-year-old.
Bryant currently endorses Red Bull, Adidas, and the men's clothing line Express which you can see from the GIF above. After winning the MVP award, you can bet your money that other major businesses will be lining up to get his endorsement as well.
Just a side note: If you're thinking about heading to your local Express to try and look like Bryant by rocking some slim cut chinos or a split collar athletic fit dress shirt, you may want to get to the gym first.
Take my advice on this one.
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4. The best Bromance in Cubs History
Bryant's tenure in Chicago has been a complete whirlwind of interviews, appearances, and a little bit of baseball sprinkled in. Lucky for him he had Anthony Rizzo to help show him the ropes when he arrived in Chicago in early 2015. Rizzo had been with the Cubs since 2012 and had to unfortunately suffer through three LONG seasons before the team turned it around in 2015.
The two formed a great relationship right off the bat and even gained the nickname "Bryzzo" to symbolize their awesome relationship.
The fourth best GIF comes immediately after the Cubs punched their ticket to their first World Series since 1945 by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the 2016 NLCS. How appropriate was it that the first guy to get a hug from Bryant was his partner in crime Anthony Rizzo?
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3. Bryant hits an absolute MOON SHOT against the Diamondbacks
Bryant has hit 65 regular season home runs in two seasons with the
Chicago Cubs so to choose one that really stands out is pretty damn hard to do. However, the number three GIF would definitely be one of my choices of a highlight home run from KB.
Bryant hit a 495 foot cannon shot on September 6, 2015 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. As you can see from the GIF, my man damn near hit a baseball OVER the ginormous scoreboard in left field. I won't even comment on how magical his swing is either but dammit, I could watch this GIF all day.
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2. The Smile Seen Around The World
I don't think Bryant needs any help going down as one of the best players in Cubs history but the number two GIF will forever cement him into the glorious history of the team. The Cubs were clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series and were desperately trying to finish the game. They already choked away a two-run lead two innings earlier but now was their chance to FINALLY close the door and break the longest drought in professional sports history.
With a runner on first base, Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomery threw a nasty curve to Cleveland batter Michael Martinez who hit a slow roller to Bryant at third. As you can see, Bryant was smiling as he charged the ball.
Total boss move on his part by the way.
As he gathered the ball in his glove before throwing to first to end the game, Bryant's right foot slipped out from underneath him which caused his throw to sail a bit higher than expected. Thank the man upstairs that Anthony Rizzo is all of 6'3" because all he had to do was get on his tip toes to catch Bryant's throw which finally gave the Cubs a World Series championship.
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1.FINALLY.
I'm not going to sit here and act like I haven't watched this GIF over and over and over since the Cubs won the World Series two months ago because I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't. This perfectly encapsulates every single Cubs fan's emotions after Rizzo caught Bryant's throw to end Game 7 of the World Series with a Cubs victory. Even the usually calm Bryant couldn't contain his emotions as he made his way to celebrate with, you guessed it, Anthony Rizzo.
And just because I think everything sounds better when Cubs radio man Pat Hughes calls it, here it is.
It's such a fitting GIF to land at number one on the list of Top 5 Kris Bryant GIFs on his birthday.
Plus everything looks better in slo-motion anyways.
Follow me on Twitter @nissen54.
