Rookies find motivation in playing for parents
SaOTTSbALc, ARIZ. >> When the San Francisco Giants informed Caleb Baragar he had earned a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster last summer, the left-handed pitcher phoned his mother, Joni, and father, Mark, to share the good news.
“For me, I thought it was very joyful,” Joni said. “And then he started crying and I basically said to him that he could cry because they were the best tears of joy ever and he had worked so hard for them.”
Joni and Mark Baragar had worked hard too. They drove Caleb to travel ball practices and games, supported him in junior college and then made weekend trips from their home state of Michigan down to Bloomington, Indiana, to watch him pitch for the Hoosiers.
In any other year, the Baragar parents would be able to celebrate the realization of their son’s big league dreams with a flight across the country to take in his big league debut.
Not in 2020.
“I knew they weren’t going to be able to go, and I made peace with that before,” Baragar said. “Yes, it was a little sad they couldn’t be there, but we tried not to dwell on it too much. Being able to talk to them was so cool.”
Phone calls and FaceTimes became the standard for rookies who played in their first ma
jor league games last season. When Major League Baseball decided to close off ballparks to fans during the regular season due to COVID-19, even family members were restricted from watching games in person.
Baragar and Giants teammates including Joey Bart and Joe McCarthy had spent their entire lives working for the chance to play in the big leagues and when they arrived, reality didn’t necessarily match expectations.
“It’s crazy because the music is still there and the lights are still there, there’s just no one there,” McCarthy said of his debut at Dodger Stadium. “It has this eerie feeling to it. I don’t think anything can prepare you for playing on such a big stage in front of zero people.”
Bart’s parents, Tom and Karen, are among the many moms and dads of Giants players who routinely stay up past midnight watching their sons in action. With a three-hour time difference between San Francisco and the Eastern Time Zone, dinner is typically done, dishes are put away and the house is quiet by the time Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow welcome fans into broadcasts from Oracle Park.
Putting in long hours to support their son’s baseball career, however, was nothing new to the Bart’s.
“My mom and dad sacrificed a lot for me, driving to Cobb County during traffic,” said Bart, who grew up in Northeast Georgia. “I used to get in the car after school at 2:30 or 3 p.m. and fall asleep and wake up an hour and a half away at practice and we’d do that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and we played all weekend.”
Like many parents, they couldn’t wait for Joey to turn 16.
“It was certainly nice for them when I could get a driver’s license,” Bart said with a laugh.
Parents of Giants rookies weren’t able to take in games in person, but they found different ways to enjoy the season. When Baragar made his debut against the Dodgers last July, Joni and Mark were huddled around the television for what Mark considered a less “nervous” experience.
“Here we are with our phones taking pictures, we have people sending us pictures from their phones,” Joni said. “He got his first strikeout and Mark laughed so hard, it was the most joyous laugh I’ve heard.”
After being unable to look into the stands and see their parents’ faces last year, Giants players have reason for optimism.