Shaw hopeful on his first Father’s Day
As far as Father’s Days go,
Travis Shaw‘s went as well as could be expected.
He went 1 for 4 in a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Miller Park, but most important did so with the knowledge that his newborn daughter, Ryann, is in a better place physically than she was last weekend.
“She’s doing good,” Shaw said. “Slowly progressing but doing good.”
Ryann underwent open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin on June 9, about a week after being born, due to the condition hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Doctors then had to follow up with another procedure the next day after complications arose.
Shaw, the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting third baseman, took an emergency leave of absence from the team and missed a three-game series in Arizona before returning last week in St. Louis.
He’s played in every game since and fared well, hitting .276 with a pair of home runs and five runs batted in. For the season Shaw has established himself as one of the Brewers’ best players, hitting .295 with 12 homers and team-leading 47 RBI while also playing a solid third base.
For Shaw to continue producing as he has while Ryann is still recovering has been nothing short of remarkable in the eyes of his teammates.
“I don’t know how he’s able to come out and perform,” said reliever Jared Hughes, himself the father of a six-month-old son named Will.
“I know his mind is with his family. He’s a very talented baseball player, and that’s what’s showing. He’s able to focus and go out there and help the team, but at the same time I think his mind is certainly elsewhere.”
Shaw said Ryann is expected to remain in the hospital for another 5-6 weeks while she recovers. More surgeries await – another around four months and yet another at 2-3 years of age, Shaw said.
Shaw and his wife, Lindy, have spent most every minute at the hospital with Ryann, returning to their home only to sleep, and the first-time father was headed back to Children’s after leaving Miller Park on Sunday afternoon.
“She’s stable, she’s getting better each day,” he said. “There’s still a long way to go. We still can’t hold her, can’t take her home yet. “But it’s as good as it can be.”
Slow going: Mindful of the fact he landed back on the disabled list five days after returning from his left-calf strain in late May, Ryan Braun is being especially cautious as he progresses in his rehab program this time.
To that end, there still is no timetable for a minor-league rehab assignment for him.
“We’ve been on the field for a week. Ryan’s got to have confidence in it to kind of take the next step, and we’re just not quite there yet,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’re still hopeful that this week we take that final step, and I know Ryan’s still hopeful about that.
“No setbacks. We’ve just got to clear that step where he feels he can go at full steam.”
Braun has missed a total of 31 games and counting with the calf injury yet the Brewers have continued to compete without their best all-around player, a source of pride for Counsell.
“I think we’ve done a good job as a group offensively for a pretty good chunk of the season,” he said. “It’s a lot of guys doing it at different times, and that’s how you kind of fill the gap. I think we’ve played very good defense out there (in left field) for the most part, and that’s helped.
“Guys like Jesús Aguilar have contributed significantly in filling that void. His numbers are pretty similar to what you’d hope Ryan would produce (when Aguilar is playing first base). Then we’ve used a bunch of other players. Hernán Pérez is always incredibly useful.”