MIAMI — Anthony Rizzo never wanted to be here.
Sure, he wanted to be the first baseman and No. 3 hitter of a team with World Series expectations on Opening Day.
But he never expected to be more than just a baseball player.
When asked what he believes gun control laws should be before Thursday's season-opener at Marlins Park, Rizzo shrugged and said:
"I play first base for the Cubs."
While yes, that is true, he's become so much more. He's become an icon that transcends the game of baseball.
That much was certain when he continued after that sentence Thursday to discuss how he would like to see stricter gun laws and make it harder for people to acquire guns.
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Last month, Rizzo was careful to clarify that he wasn't trying to speak about gun control specifically, pointing out how he never said the word, "gun."
Well, he's saying that word now.
Earlier this week, Rizzo went to visit his former high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, in Parkland, Fla., and watched the baseball team win 15-0.
He said it inspired him to go out and score a bunch of runs in Thursday's Game 1 of 162. The Cubs scored eight runs, with Rizzo crossing the plate twice himself — including a blast into the upper deck in right field in the second inning.
"That was probably the most out-of-body experience I've had hitting a home run in my life," Rizzo said. "Just felt really good, obviously. My emotions on Opening Day are usually really high, but with all this, you can't really put it into words.
"...I just wanted to slow down, run the bases, just enjoy that moment. It's Opening Day — to hit a home run on Opening Day is special, always, but obviously with everything that's gone on at home with Parkland, it's a little more special for me personally and for the most part — everyone."
Rizzo and the Cubs wore Stoneman Douglas T-shirts during Thursday's pregame warm-ups and teamed with the Marlins to pay tribute to the high school and the recent tragedy on their uniforms during the game:
Rizzo doesn't have anything special planned to honor Stoneman Douglas for the rest of the season beyond what he's already doing.
"I honor them every day," Rizzo said. "That's where I'm from. It's my city. It's where I was raised, where I grew up. I went to that school. Every day, you think of them. Every day, you feel for what happened."
Immediately following the shooting in Parkland that claimed 17 lives, Rizzo left Cubs camp in spring training and spoke at the vigil site.
He's since passionately backed students on National Walk Out Day:
Rizzo has always been extremely generous with his time and money in the community, with his foundation and cancer research. He won MLB's Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work last year, an award he picked up at the World Series six months ago.
He's already beaten cancer and that's helped him put everything in perspective.
Make no mistake: Rizzo understands his role right now and also knows things will eventually return to normal at Stoneman Douglas.
"It comes with the territory," he said. "We have this platform and everyone wants our opinions. But everything smooths over, everything fades away. The cameras will eventually go away there."
He also knows our country is in the midst of changing times, and these students from Stoneman Douglas are at the forefront of that movement.
"For them to be getting bullied on Twitter from some guy with strong fingers, I think it's pretty funny," Rizzo said. "I know for a fact they're not going to let anything affect them and their mission.
"Because what they're doing is bigger than themselves. It's for a lot of people."
And those trolls bullying the students?
"I think they're losers," Rizzo said. "That's what I think, to be honest. You hear all these things and you think, 'How can you even say this? Where's your heart? Where's your sense of sympathy?'
"This is as real as it gets. You don't think it's real? Go there."
The Cubs front office has invested a lot in Anthony Rizzo as a person, dating all the way back to when Theo Epstein drafted him in the sixth round from Stoneman Douglas in 2007.
So it's no surprise to Epstein see Rizzo's image transcending professional sports.
"He's much more than a baseball player," Epstein said. "There's a lot of elements to him as a human being. Very caring, emotional person that develops important relationships easily.
"He feels really connected to his home town, to his school. He's got a big heart. It really affected him when he saw that and he's standing up for what he believes in.
"He's not someone that's just going to look the other way and think someone else will take care of things. He really wants to dive in and make a difference. You see that with how he conducts himself in Chicago. He's a great role model for all of us, really."
Any issues with this off-the-field stuff affecting Rizzo's performance between the white lines?
"No," Epstein said, flatly. "You're talking about somebody who stops by pediatric oncology on the way to games in Chicago. He's good at compartmentalizing when he needs to."