About 10 years ago at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Frank Thomas met Mike Bryant through a mutual friend who also lived in Sin City.
Thomas recalled Bryant started bragging about his teenage son, Kris, from their first conversation.
"I'd run into Mike and he kept telling me: 'My kid is special, Frank. He's big, powerful and fast,' " the White Sox Hall of Famer recalled Thursday. "You don't think anything of it because you hear that kind of stuff all the time."
But not everything that happens in Vegas stays there. Some things are too big _ like the Bryant kid who was the worst-kept baseball secret in town.
Time passed, Kris matured into a menacing hitter and Thomas never saw the Bryants again until the 2015 Home Run Derby at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, where Mike was his son's chosen pitcher. The proud father of the All-Star Cubs third baseman broke out in a big smile when he saw Thomas, in his role as a Fox Sports analyst, near the batting cage.
"We were both laughing, and Mike said, 'See, I told you my kid was good,' " Thomas said.
"Great" now more accurately describes Bryant, the deserving, runaway winner Thursday of the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. Not since Sammy Sosa in 1998 has a Cub been so honored, and this one comes with an exclamation point instead of an asterisk. Bryant finished ahead of Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy and Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, and you didn't have to live in Chicago to understand why.
With a textbook swing perfected in the batting cage Mike built in the family's backyard, Bryant blasted 39 home runs, drove in 102 runs, scored 121 runs and led the NL with 7.7 wins above replacement. He enhanced his value by playing five positions _ third base (104 games), left field (50), right field (14), first base (eight) and center field (one) _ which let Joe Maddon manage as if he had a de facto 27-man roster.
And Bryant brought the same upbeat attitude to every position, brimming with enthusiasm that helps make him one of baseball's brightest and most approachable stars. That humility defines Bryant as much as any home run. It's not an act. Anybody who has spent more than 15 minutes with Bryant understands that. Ask Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen or the clubhouse guys at Wrigley Field. He is the rare player to whom the game always has come easy, yet he takes nothing and nobody for granted.
Never have the Cubs drafted a more impactful player than the No. 2 selection in 2013 out of the University of San Diego. Older buddy Anthony Rizzo leads more naturally than Bryant, and more experienced teammates such as Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta command loads of respect. But winning the MVP confirms the face of the Cubs has sparkling blue eyes and a thin, scruffy beard.
The Cubs could lose Dexter Fowler and Aroldis Chapman to free agency and still enter next season as World Series favorites. Take away Bryant, hypothetically, and it's a different story.
"You can't really put into words what this feels like ... an unbelievable year," said Bryant, 24.
Nobody can relate to what Bryant felt when he received Thursday's news better than Thomas, who was 25 when he won his first of two consecutive American League MVP awards in 1993. Thomas chuckled when asked if Bryant's life ever will be the same now that he forever can be referred to as "National League MVP Kris Bryant."
"It will change Kris because he's a soft-spoken guy," Thomas said. "The expectations will be higher. The pressure will be different. There will be built-in distractions. I know he can handle them. It couldn't happen to a better guy. It's not going to change Kris Bryant the person, but he'll have to adjust a little."
For Thomas, that meant taking on a more vocal role. Bryant handles the glare with more ease than Thomas did, but it will intensify. As that happens, handling success might challenge the Cubs as much as achieving it, testing even the most patient of superstars.
"He's the league MVP now, so he'll have to talk more," Thomas said. "There were times I wanted to go away from it all. I'm sure you remember that. But you've got to face all you (media) guys now because there's a responsibility that comes with being MVP. He's ready for that."
According to Thomas, Bryant is ready for anything _ winning back-to-back MVPs as Thomas did, leading the Cubs to another World Series and one day even following Thomas' path to Cooperstown, N.Y.
"He's got that kind of ability, that temperament," Thomas said. "And once you become MVP, a lot of confidence comes with that too.
"It's very early, but this kid could get into the Hall of Fame. All the positions he plays, how he runs so well for a big guy. He's the most unique player in baseball, something we haven't seen in a long time. ... What a special talent."
At least Thomas was warned.
