Bryant gets a chance to rest before season

MESA, Ariz. -- For the first time since he moved into his new house in Las Vegas in January, Kris Bryant will have a chance to sit by the pool.
The reigning National League Most Valuable Player Award winner got permission to go home Thursday night and spend some extra time in his hometown before the regular season begins. The Cubs third baseman will take part in the weekend split-squad games in Las Vegas against the Reds. He was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed, which is one of the few pieces of furniture he has.
"I love going home," Bryant said Thursday. "For me, it's like a vacation before the season starts."
Before Spring Training last year, Bryant took a vacation in Hawaii and didn't do any baseball-related activities. Veteran David Ross advised him to take advantage of the time "before the craziness starts," Bryant said.
Bryant's wife, Jessica, has been busy thanking family, friends and fans for all the wedding presents. During a TV appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in the offseason, Bryant mentioned where they were registered, and fans went shopping.
"I can't believe how many presents we got from fans," Bryant said. "It was unbelievable. Jess is going to have to write all the thank you notes and I'm signing my name on them. We have, literally, 700 thank you notes."
The generous fans will get Bryant's autograph.
"I said [to Jessica], 'You need to get the generic thank you note,'" Bryant said. "She said, 'No, I feel they took the time out of their day to buy a present.' She's been writing. I said, 'This is going to take you the whole year.' If there's anybody out there waiting for a reply, that's why."
While they have plenty of dishes and towels, they're lacking in furniture. Bryant said they have a couch, a bed and a bean bag chair. He's not asking for more gifts -- they'll furnish the house at some point. He does have a swimming pool, and planned on taking advantage of it on Friday.
"It's the only time I'll ever get to use it, ever," Bryant said. "It's cold in the winter."
The Bryants did send a thank you note to Bryce Harper, who also got married over the offseason. The two couples attended each other's weddings. Bryant remembers when Harper was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine at the age of 15.
"It's very impressive to have that type of attention put on you at 15 years old and live up to it," Bryant said. "All the props to him. It's a lot of pressure on yourself when you're that young and you're on the cover of a magazine."
Bryant and Harper lived on opposite sides of Las Vegas, and rarely crossed paths. They did play against each other when they were younger.
"I don't think we ever got him out," Bryant said of his Bonanza High School team. "Bryce is a good player now, but you should've seen him when the competition wasn't as good and he thrived in that situation. He would never get out. Then he'd get on the mound and throw 100 mph and then he'd catch. He was literally unbelievable."
So, who's the best player to come out of Las Vegas?
"It's got to be Greg Maddux," Bryant said. "There's a lot of potential in terms of Vegas talent playing now, and not just me and Bryce. There's a ton of talent up and coming. It's fun for me to see because I played with these guys growing up. It's fun to see how their careers progressed and fun to follow them."