Dec. 10--Ben Zobrist admitted Wednesday that he grew up in Eureka as a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
But the chance to play closer to his family, the opportunity to help the Chicago Cubs win a World Series and to be reunited with manager Joe Maddon overshadowed more lucrative four-year offers.
"In the end, the deal I signed was exactly where I wanted to be as far as money goes, and the fact it was the Cubs and the lure of not only playing in Wrigley but winning a championship in Chicago outdid a lot of the dollar amount figures in my mind," Zobrist said at a news conference attended by a plethora of team officials.
Zobrist turned down more lucrative offers from the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals to agree to a four-year, $56 million contract.
Zobrist's biggest task may be accommodating many family members with tickets to Cardinals-Cubs games.
"I was a Cardinal fan growing up so I've got a family split," Zobrist said. "Some of them are very happy, some are very angry. When father found out, he was so excited, jumping up and down saying, 'I can't believe I'm so excited to be a Cub fan.'
"It's pretty thick down there. I can't wait. Some are really going to have to swallow their pride and follow me and the Cubs the next four years."
Zobrist admitted he might have returned too soon from a knee injury last summer but said he has fully recovered and will start baseball work. He added that he can handle the leadoff spot if asked, adding that he batted leadoff during parts of his nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays under Maddon.
"I can do it," said Zobrist, who has a lifetime .329 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot. "I've done it before. Part of it is getting used to it and having a quality at-bat your first at-bat. After that, you're just part of the train."
