Chris Sale on what it’s like to raise three sons while playing professional baseball
"Missing my son's first Little League game, missing practices, missing games, not being there just for stuff, it's hard."
Chris Sale has fond memories of his childhood in Lakeland, Fla. – his father, Allan, appears in many of them, always there to play pick-up in the driveway after work and rarely missing one of his son’s baseball games.
In an interview with WEEI‘s Rob Bradford, Sale said he strives to emulate his relationship with his father with his own sons, 9-year-old Rylan, 3-year-old Brayson, and 3-month-old Camden.
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“I want to do the same things he did,” Sale told WEEI. “It’s hard. That’s why when the offseason comes, it’s sacred for me, because that’s the time I do those things. I take my son to baseball practice. I got my oldest son golf lessons so he can come play golf with me or he can come hang out with me and my friends.”
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Inevitably, the schedule of a major league player means that Sale misses out on things. It’s never willingly.
“You can ask my mom, ask my dad, ask my sister, ask anybody in my family, my dad missed less than a handful of my games until I got to college,” Sale said. “Going from that to me missing my kids’ first day of school, missing my son’s first Little League game, missing practices, missing games, not being there just for stuff, it’s hard.”
At the end of the day, there are upsides to living in the public eye, too. Sale said he uses in-game moments – even the bad ones – to teach lessons to his children that he hopes will stay with them.
“If you’re sick and you don’t feel good you have to get it done,” Sale said. “[Rylan] obviously knew I wasn’t at my best. And last year was a big learning moment for me.
It was the worst year of my life, professionally. Being able to tell him I couldn’t wait to pitch even though I just stunk. Those are the little things as a parent.”
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