Cubs: Nico Hoerner earns Dansby Swanson’s nickname after walk-off win

Chicago Cubs star Nico Hoerner had a walk-off hit on Monday night, the first of his career. With it, he seems to have stolen Dansby Swanson’s nickname.

Nico Hoerner is the new sheriff in town, per Chicago Cubs catcher Yan Gomes. All spring, the Cubs stressed that this team was different. The tide was turning.

This team, for all its faults, can be the start of a new generation of winning Cubs baseball. It’s been awhile since fans have heard that.

The signing of Dansby Swanson, once coined the sheriff in Braves Country, marked a significant shift in front office philosophy. Swanson cost $177 million — certainly not chump change for the Ricketts family, an ownership group notorious for penny pinching until the time is right.

Cubs: Nico Hoerner is the new sheriff in town

That time might be now, though Swanson is no longer the Sheriff. After Hoerner’s walk-off hit, Gomes threw a cowboy hat on the young infielder near reporters.

“I just saw the hat and I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s the new sheriff in town,’” Gomes said, per The Athletic. “Things like that happen organically. I literally just saw it laying around and I just grabbed it and said, ‘Hey, Nico’s got to wear this to do interviews.’”

Hoerner is a key piece of Chicago’s future, as he signed a three-year extension to stay at Wrigley Field for years to come. As for the nickname, surely Swanson is happy to oblige.

Chicago is his new home, after all, while Atlanta is a thing of the past. Yes, there are fond memories, but he’s not in that clubhouse anymore. In fact, Swanson never really enjoyed the nickname in the first place.

Now, like Dansby himself, it has a new home.