New father is ‘enjoying the moment’
During a busy stretch for the Orioles, relief pitcher Mychal Givens had on his mind not only his job, but also a new member of his family. Givens and his wife, Tiffani, welcomed their first child, Makaylah Grace, on July 14 in Tampa, Fla.
Fortunately for Givens, the team was in nearby St. Petersburg to play the Tampa Bay Rays when Makaylah was born. In fact, the day after his daughter’s birth, Givens pitched a scoreless seventh for the Orioles and picked up his seventh win of the season.
But earlier in July, Givens traveled with the team on a three-city, 11-day West Coast road trip, with his wife due less than a week after the Orioles returned home. And after the Orioles finished their series in St. Petersburg last Sunday, Givens had to leave for the next series in New York.
Back in Baltimore for the first time since Makaylah was born, Givens took a moment to chat about what the past few weeks have been like. How has fatherhood been?
It’s been good. Just been enjoying the moment and enjoying the photos that my wife sends me. What have been the biggest challenges?
The challenges are just now getting to spend four or five days, go travel, then I won’t see them for a while. You got to see them in Tampa though? Yep, yep. I saw them for four or five days. How tough has it been? Have you had any trouble focusing on pitching?
No, no. This is my job. I’ve been doing this for a while, so now I’m hungry just to hopefully contribute and hopefully make it to the playoffs. Do you know when you’ll see them next? Pretty soon, next couple weeks. … They’re coming up to see me. Any big plans for next time you get to see them?
No, no big plans. Just enjoying the moment and just focusing on trying to win games.