DALLAS — Wrigley Field always held a special place in John Boyd’s heart.

But his fandom advanced to a new level on Aug. 19, 2015.

His grandson, Matt, was a rookie pitcher with the Tigers and — because of a pair of wild injuries — was forced to come in relief at the Friendly Confines against the Cubs. He allowed 1 run on a hit in 0.2 innings against his grandpa’s favorite team.

“I think he was more excited about the Cubs scores than my own performance some of the times,” Matt Boyd said.

John Boyd died in late 2019, but Monday was still a special day for the Boyd family. Matt was officially unveiled as the newest member of the Chicago Cubs after agreeing to a 2-year contract.

“I wish I could have watched a game with him [at Wrigley Field], but, he’s smiling somewhere right now,” Matt said. “He’ll be smiling this year.”

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A lifelong Cubs fan, John Boyd rooted for the North Siders and would try and pass that love of the team to his grandson, Matt.

On more than one Christmas, John gifted Matt Cubs pennants.

“2016 was one of the happiest days of his life,” Matt said. “He’s smiling somewhere right now. He’ll be smiling this year.”

That familial connection was just another reason why signing with the Cubs made sense to Boyd. He built a solid connection with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy — his first conversation with him was a 1-hour phone call. Boyd believes in the Cubs lineup and his taste of postseason baseball in 2024 with Cleveland has him itching to experience it in Chicago.

“Pitching in the postseason last year was amazing, and I’m really excited about the opportunity to do that here,” Boyd said. “And those are the reasons that really brought me to being a Cub now.”

[WATCH: Cole Wright goes 1-on-1 with Matthew Boyd]

This past season was one of the most challenging of the lefty’s career.

He was recuperating from Tommy John surgery and didn’t sign with a team until midseason, though he remained confident in his ability to bounce back and pitch at a high level.

“I don’t say this to sound arrogant, [but] I knew what I was gonna do,” Boyd said. “I knew what I was gonna do on July 1, 2023, when I kind of woke up and your arms in a sling and whatnot.”

Boyd attacked the rehab process, working every day to prove his belief right. Without a team, he picked pitchers to watch, trying to pick up on anything he saw to improve his game, too.

He latched onto a pair of fellow southpaws — and future teammates — in Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele.

“I dove in on Shota and Steele’s starts quite a bit, just two lefties that I thought we did similar things, but we also are very unique in our own ways,” Boyd said. “I’d pick like the guys I like to watch, and those were two lefties that I just loved watching them attack hitters.”

When he was finally healthy, he signed with Cleveland and immediately showed that he was right — he knew what he could do. Boyd struck out 6 Cubs in 5.1 innings of 1-run, 3-hit ball in Cleveland. That was the jumping-off point for a stellar finish to the season in which he posted a 2.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 39.2 innings. He allowed 1 run in 11.2 innings across 3 starts for the Guardians in their run to the ALCS.

Now, he hopes he can be a part of a rotation that leads the Cubs back to the playoffs. And to do so with a special fan watching down on him in that pursuit.

“There’s a ton of upside and I’m really excited to be part of it and just do my part to help bring a championship to Chicago,” Boyd said.