What Price Paternity?

Food for thought, but as a father whose parenting is right at the centre of my life, I’d be extra-proud of an athlete putting his children and family above all else. And frankly, the needs of the many are met in a different way by this action, as any improved parenting that results from the positive role modeling is welcome.

After all, we can always use more good fathers.

Also of matter, is he really missing a start? Or did they just move him back a game and someone else up a game?

Colby Lewis’ WAR was 4.4 last season over 32 starts. That works out to 0.1375 Wins Above Replacement per start. Unless I’m misusing the stat, it seems like it’s not that big of a deal to skip a start.

Oh, and he skipped a start against the Yankees. And his ERA is currently 5.82. There’s a good chance the Rangers would have lost that game anyway.

Yeah, his job is dependent on keeping the fans pleased but it’s not like he has to go home to them after the game. His job is really no different than any other persons in this country and we’d all be a bit miffed if we were kept at work while our wife was giving birth (let alone the fact that she would never forgive you for it).

So it doesn’t matter if it’s the World Series or not, his family is the priority. Besides, if it was the playoffs or World Series I’m sure he would just push to have it induced between starts.

That I would think a lot less of Colby Lewis if he DIDN’T miss the start. Any fan who puts a baseball game ahead of someone being at their kid’s birth should really re-think their priorities. I have no problem with Koufax skipping a playoff game for religious reasons, and I think the birth of a child is more important than that.
The only caveat to this refers back to something I typed earlier: if you are a professional baseball player, and you are trying to have a child (as opposed to an accidental pregnancy), you probably should suspend attempts during January to avoid the issue coming up in October. That just seems like common sense to me. But worries over pushing back a start in April? No.

The needs of the many? The only people apart from Lewis with “needs” in this scenario are the other Rangers, and I doubt they think less of him for being with his wife while their child was being born.

But if you meant the needs of the fans? Fans don’t have needs, at least not in the context of being fans. Fans only have wants. Baseball is a great game, but it’s still just a game. And it’s not fair to ask something of a baseball player that we wouldn’t also expect of ourselves. I have a feeling neither I nor Richie Whitt nor Rob Neyer would skip the birth of a child so that we could blog about a ballgame, even the World Series.

and I had no problem with Colby missing his start. In fact he even offered to pitch on short rest on a day the Rangers needed a starter because of a rainout. Ron Washington turned him down and told him the bullpen would take care of that start because the next day was an off day.

I don’t necessarily go along with people who say that they would think less of Lewis if he didn’t miss the start. Different individuals, and different families, are different, and I’d presume that they make these decisions based on what’s best for their families. With personal decisions like this, the point is to be non-judgmental across the board, I think.

Let’s get one thing straight, Lewis used his “paternity leave” to indulge himself, certainly not his newborn. Obviously, Lewis just doesn’t care about baseball that much. If his family really needed parenting and he had to leave that would be different. But what we are really talking about is Lewis missing work, work that he is paid very well for, to go and experience some personal indulgence. This is exactly what we should be teaching our young people NOT to do. Presumably his wife would have been able to make it through the birth with competent doctors and familial support whether Lewis was skipping his job that pays the bills or not. One of the main themes of team sports is supposed to be that you put your personal indulgences aside for the good of the team. It’s disconcerting that so many of you are on the wrong side of this issue.

I’m from Toronto and something similar to what Rob proposed in his analogy of the Phillies playoffs game 7 between Roy Halladay/Joe Blanton. Vince Carter was graduation ceremony was on the same day of game 7 between the Raptors/Sixers. Now, he didn’t skip the game but he did attend the ceremony even though it interfered with his schedule. He missed the potential game-winning shot and the Raptors were eliminated. If he had made that shot…he would’ve been lauded. But he missed and was vilified. If Colby Lewis comes back and has a successful season, it will be forgotten. If he stinks, everyone will call to this game.
 
Unfortunately, whether it is right or wrong depends on the results after-the-fact. Even though, that shouldn’t be the case.

 divide lewis’s warp by 33 starts.

I take it that many of you don’t know anyone who’s had a child born with complications or who lost a child or a wife during delivery. NOTHING is guaranteed during childbirth. Though you could pay me a lot to miss seeing the birth of my healthy child, you couldn’t pay me enough to miss being there if something went wrong.

That this question is even being asked. It’s none of our (the fan’s) business. If the team says it’s ok, then it’s ok. They’re the ones who are paying him. And seriously, one start? Even if it’s Game 7 of the WS, who cares? I love baseball, but have some perspective, here.

The man’s CHILD is being born. Fifty years from now, nobody will care about a day when Colby Lewis didn’t throw a baseball 100 times. His child, however, will presumably still be alive and affecting human lives. Kudos to Colby Lewis for wanting to be there when his child enters the world.

This article is kind of ridiculous and I’m surprised that Rob Neyer even wrote it. I mean, you recognize the human vs. baseball fan distinction, then go off the rails in describing the apparent importance of the game. It’s his JOB and his EMPLOYER gave him the day off. Who cares what baseball fans think?