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Issue Date: June 11, 2006
Home Run Dads
As Father's Day approaches, dads everywhere will be inspired by three extra-special men who not only excel at baseball, they're also all-stars off the field, meeting the differing needs of their families.
By Tim Wendel
Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora has plenty of love to go around for his kids -- Genesis, Rebekah, Jada, Christian, Matthew and eldest daughter Tatiana.
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For dads, the accomplishments of parenthood amount to tiny abstracts of wisdom that are passed along, a hint here and a quick lesson there -- perhaps over a game of catch. Why not? Many of us love baseball because Dad taught us so much about it. The same dad who showed us how to tie a square knot and skip a stone was also the one who showed us how to throw a ball and swing a bat.
A good dad doesn't have to be an appendage. As a father, I've learned that you have to be strong enough to let your children rise and stumble on their own. But you have to show up. Read on, and you'll learn more about three fathers who have been there for their children under challenging circumstances. In one case, a dad helps his daughter get through life as she faces a serious medical condition. In another, a father keeps his promise to be a part of his son's life, even though he is estranged from the child's mom. In the third, a dad finds himself dealing with prolific production of an exhaustive kind -- the prospect of raising quintuplets!
And they're all professional baseball players, which makes their efforts more compelling. Think about it: Their job requires that they travel all the time. When they're in town, they work a shift well into the night, long after their children are in bed.
With Father's Day next weekend, I recently caught up with three ballplayers -- Albert Pujols, Eric Young and Melvin Mora. I was interested in how they dealt with both the consuming demands of baseball and other challenges that would tax even dads with "normal" jobs. You'll find that these men -- and all dads who show up -- should be especially celebrated.
Tim Wendel is the author of several books, including "The New Face of Baseball" and "Castro's Curveball."
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Name: Melvin Mora
Team: Baltimore Orioles
This great dad ... is raising quintuplets -- plus one.
His story: Life for the sweet-swinging Venezuelan infielder changed forever when Mora's wife, Gisel, gave birth to quintuplets -- girls Genesis, Rebekah and Jada, and boys Christian and Matthew -- on July 28, 2001. Back then, the Moras had a five-seat stroller custom made for the five babies. Today, shopping trips to BJ's Wholesale Club require two shopping carts, and at least one is a flatbed trolley.
"You need help to make this work," says Mora, 34. "My wife, my mother, my older daughter -- they all pitch in. But I wouldn't want it any other way."
Wouldn't want it any other way ... It's a common phrase among dads. But, with Mora, there's a poignant back story that speaks to his sincerity. When Mora was 6, his father was gunned down on the streets of his hometown in Venezuela. In recent years, Mora also lost his brother to senseless violence. That's why Mora wants plenty of loved ones around. "To know they're home, waiting for me? It means everything," he says.
Mora plans to play at least seven more years so his kids will be old enough to appreciate what he does. But he has been pleasantly surprised to find that the Fab Five already are taking interest.
"Rebekah especially loves to come to the games," Mora says. "That makes me want to be even more successful. They're beginning to understand the game and what I do. It's become something we can talk about and share."
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Name: Eric Young
Team: San Diego Padres
This great dad ... is determined to always be available, no matter where he is.
His story: Last year, in spring training, Eric Young of the San Diego Padres brought the lineup card to the umpires before the game. And someone special was there to meet him with the lineup card of the opposing team, the Colorado Rockies -- his 21-year-old son, Eric Jr. An infielder in the Rockies' farm system, Eric Jr. was brought up for just that game, to play his dad's team.
"It was overwhelming," remembers Young, 39. "He was wearing a Rockies uniform, a team I used to play for. We were both on cloud nine." Eric Jr. hit a triple, and, in the Padres' dugout, his father momentarily forgot whom he played for and cheered on his son. (Even if it's your kid, that's a no-no in pro ball.)
Baseball is the game that has helped hold this father and son together. Young and Eric Jr.'s mother were high-school sweethearts and never married, and they're no longer together. But that didn't stop Eric Sr. from making sure his son was a big part of his life.
"He's always been there for me," Eric Jr. says. "He made sure of that. I didn't realize how hard that must have been until I was older."
At age 7, Eric Jr. began to spend summers with his father. Away from the ballpark, they played mini-golf, and hit the beach and the zoo. As his son grew up, Young learned the importance of listening. "That's the most important thing you do as a parent," he says. "I needed to be quiet and understand what he was trying to say. Once you do that, then a bond is there -- everywhere, anytime, anyway you need it."
Eric Jr. eventually realized that he enjoyed the ballplayer's life as much as his dad did.
"Being in the clubhouse, going on road trips with him when I got older -- that was our life together," Eric Jr. says. "It took me time to realize how fortunate I was to be living it."
Father and son talk to each other on the phone three to four times a week, and the elder Young would like nothing better than to play against his son in a major-league game during the regular season. Eric Jr. says he will never forget that day last year in spring training when his father momentarily forgot what uniform he was wearing. When Eric Jr. smacked that triple toward the warning track, it was his father's voice he heard as he rounded first and headed for third.
"He shouldn't have been doing that," Eric Jr. says. "But I knew he would be cheering me on. He's been doing it my entire life."
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Name: Albert Pujols
Team: St. Louis Cardinals
This great dad ... has adopted daughter Isabella, who has Down syndrome.
His story: You're on your way to baseball stardom, and you meet a new single mom. You hit it off. During the conversation, the mom reveals that she not only has a daughter, but that the daughter has Down syndrome. Given the circumstance, wouldn't it be understandable if you turned the other way?
Not if you're Albert Pujols, the reigning National League MVP. Finding out about Isabella, now 8, only brought him closer to her mom, Deidre, who is now his wife.
The two first met just three months after Deidre became a mother for the first time. After Deidre told Albert about Isabella, she went to a doctor's office and picked up pamphlets about Down syndrome that were written in Spanish. The couple married shortly after, and Pujols adopted Isabella.
"From the first moment they saw each other, Albert and Isabella have had a special connection," Deidre says. "He loves to catch her eye, to make her smile." The couple now also have a son, A.J., 5, and a daughter, Sophia, 7 months.
When the family gathers for a meal, Pujols makes sure Isabella's place is set, that she has her juice. He rarely goes out of town in the off-season. That's his time to catch up with his family -- take them out to the movies or cook breakfast for them. And he loves making funny faces for young Isabella, causing her to dissolve into giggles.
"We didn't choose Down syndrome," says Albert, 26. "Down syndrome chose my family."
Pujols raises money to fight Down syndrome through charity dinners and a golf tournament, the latter raising more than $233,000 last year with the help of his pro sports agency, the Beverly Hills Sports Council. "When something impacts you at that level, it becomes pretty important," he says. "You just feel you have to do something."
Even though Deidre calls her life "a constant balancing act," the times when the baseball headlines do overlap with family life can be priceless. After Pujols hit a two-out home run against the Houston Astros last fall, one of the biggest postseason homers ever, he flew home on the team charter. At 4 a.m., he reportedly opened the front door of his home to find A.J. waiting for him.
"I love you, Dad," the boy said. "Glad you're home."
Then over his shoulder as he went upstairs to bed, Pujols' son said, "Nice home run."
Such are the rewards for dads who are always there.
Photograph of Melvin Mora and his children by Peter Gregoire for USA WEEKEND
Styling by Jacquie Hannan/T.H.E. Artist Agency
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