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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives would like to congratulate Kris Bryant of the
4Chicago Cubs on unanimously being voted as the 2015 National
5League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association
6of America for his outstanding play and successful
7contributions to his team this year; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Kristopher "Kris" Lee Bryant, son of Mike and
9Susie Bryant, was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 4, 1992;
10from a very young age, he showed promise in the sport of
11baseball; after graduating from Bonanza High School with
12numerous awards and recognitions at age 18, he was drafted by
13the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th round of the 2010 Major
14League Baseball (MLB) draft in June of that year; however, the
15young ballplayer elected to attend the University of San Diego
16(USD)instead; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant continued to grow and excel while
18playing for the USD Toreros; in 2013, he had his best
19collegiate season, registering 31 home runs and leading the
20country with 80 runs, 66 walks, 187 total bases, and an
21outstanding .820 slugging percentage; this effort propelled
22him to be awarded the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, an
23award that recognizes the nation's top amateur baseball player

 

 

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1each year; in that same year, he also received the Dick Howser
2Trophy, awarded annually to the collegiate player that best
3represents courage, character, leadership, and performance;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, Given Kris Bryant's stellar results on the field
6and positive potential for play in the major leagues, the
7Chicago Cubs selected him with the number 2 overall pick in the
8MLB 2013 First-Year Player Draft; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant began his professional career with the
10Boise Hawks and quickly enjoyed successful promotions to the
11Daytona Cubs, Tennessee Smokies, and, finally, the Iowa Cubs;
12by the end of a stellar campaign in 2014, he was named the USA
13Today Minor League Player of the Year and the Baseball America
14Minor League Player of the Year, leading baseball critics to
15consider him one of the top prospects for the 2015 season; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant was invited to play for the Chicago
17Cubs during the team's Cactus League spring training in Mesa,
18Arizona, where he took full advantage of the opportunity to
19demonstrate his talents; the 23-year-old prospect posted
20impressive statistics that accurately displayed his knack for
21hitting for both power and average; the young Cubs right-hander
22hit 9 home runs while posting a .425 batting average on just 40
23at-bats; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant came into the 2015 MLB season with
2everyone watching and waiting to see what the young 23-year-old
3infielder could bring to the young Chicago Cubs team, and he
4surely did not disappoint; after being named MLB Rookie of the
5Month for May and capitalizing on the opportunity to start in
6both infield and outfield positions for the Cubs, he joined
7fellow teammate Anthony Rizzo in the 2015 All-Star Game played
8in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 14, 2015; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant continued to demonstrate his talents
10by being named the MLB Rookie of the Month for a second time in
11the month of August; and
 
12    WHEREAS, While baseball is a not a sport that can easily be
13won or lost on the shoulders of just one individual, Kris
14Bryant played an instrumental role in helping the Chicago Cubs
15obtain the third best record in baseball and, more importantly,
16successfully earn a playoff birth for the first time since
172008; and
 
18    WHEREAS, With Kris Bryant batting third in the line-up, the
19Chicago Cubs beat their division rivals, the Pittsburgh
20Pirates, in a one game wild card playoff at PNC Park on October
217, 2015; after securing a spot in the National League Division
22Series, the Cubs went on to defeat division rival, the St.

 

 

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1Louis Cardinals; after their strong showing against the
2Cardinals, the Cubs proceeded to face the New York Mets in the
3National League Championship Series - a position the team had
4not been in since the 2003 season; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant had a stellar 2015 rookie season,
6playing in 151 games, hitting 26 home runs, registering a .275
7batting average, scoring 99 runs-batted-in, and stealing 13
8bases; among the top rookies in the National League, he was
9first in home runs (tying Joe Pederson of the Los Angeles
10Dodgers), runs, runs-batted-in, on-base percentage, doubles,
11sacrifice flies, and total bases; he was in the top-5 in hits,
12triples, walks, steals, and many other categories; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In October of 2015, Sporting News named Kris
14Bryant as the 2015 National League Rookie Player of the Year,
15as selected by a panel of 167 National League players; this
16prestigious distinction has been awarded since 1946; he joins a
17select list of former Chicago Cubs players to have received
18this incredible honor, including Billy Williams (1961), Mark
19Grace (1988), and Kerry Wood (1998); and
 
20    WHEREAS, Kris Bryant has demonstrated that he is a true
21leader and influential member of the Chicago Cubs organization;
22at the age of 23, he not only has earned the respect of his
23teammates in the clubhouse, but has displayed a sincere and

 

 

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1unbridled passion for the sport; his potential is unrivaled by
2any other young player in the sport today; after only one
3season of playing in the major leagues, he has already become a
4central figure for the Cubbies and one that the team hopes will
5help them achieve much more success for many years to come;
6therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9celebrate the success of Kris Bryant, along with the Chicago
10Cubs, in the 2015 season, and we congratulate him on being
11named the 2015 Major League Baseball National League Rookie of
12the Year; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14delivered to Kris Bryant as a token of our congratulations and
15esteem.