Baseball MVP Kris Bryant and his P.E.I. connection - Action News
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PEI

Baseball MVP Kris Bryant and his P.E.I. connection

The phone lines were buzzing on P.E.I. last week when Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant was named the National League MVP.

Chicago Cubs star's grandfather was born in P.E.I., and his great aunt still lives here

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) during the World Series victory rally in Chicago. (USA Today Sports)

The phone lines were buzzing on P.E.I. last week when Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant was named the National League MVP.

Bryant's grandfather, George Bryant, was born in Enmore, P.E.I., and Kris Bryant still has relatives on the Island.

"They're just so happy, so proud," said Karen Parent, Bryant's aunt, on CBC's Mainstreet P.E.I.

Bryant celebrates after defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. (USA Today Sports)

Parent lives in Massachusetts but was in contact with her aunt, Carol, who lives on the Island after Bryant won the the award.

Both of Bryant's grandparents died before he was selected secondoverall in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

Bryant has since won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2015, and was named this year's most valuable player after the Cubs won the World Series.

Kris Bryant (right) as a young boy with his father Mike and brother Nick. (Submitted by Karen Parent)

Parent said they would have been incredibly proud. His grandmother was his biggest fan, she said. Parent figures they were watching from heaven.

'They had the best seats in the house, Mom and Dad," she said. "He's been blessed by them."

Kris Bryant's grandfatrher, George Bryant, was born ion P.E.I. but moved away when he was about 10. He died in 2008. (Submitted by Karen Parent)

Bryant, who is from Las Vegas, has never been to P.E.I.

But his grandfather, according to Parent, always referred to P.E.I. as "the most peaceful place on Earth."

So who knows? He's getting married in January. Maybe he'll come to P.E.I. for his honeymoon.

With files from Laura Chapin and Mainstreet P.E.I.