Below are articles I wrote as the Cubs Digital Reporter for Marquee Sports Network.
Cubs players, execs share what Father’s Day means after becoming a dad
Carter Hawkins had to do a double take.
He had heard what he was told, but he didn’t really listen to it.
“You’re having twins,” the doctor told him and his wife, Lindsay.
Hawkins had taken a red-eye flight from Arizona during spring training back to Cleveland — he was the assistant general manager there at the time — to be at the appointment and couldn’t rest, so surely it was the sleep deprivation.
“I thought I was in a dream because I hadn’t slept,” the Cubs general manager said. “The doctor’s telling us there’s two in there and I was like, ‘Is there supposed to be two?’”
It was the day that changed the life of the Cubs’ general manager – the day he learned he’d be a father.
On Father’s Day, Hawkins and some of the other dads on the Cubs recalled the journey from the moment they found out to today and what they call the greatest job on earth: fatherhood.
A devastating injury nearly cost Christopher Morel his career — instead, it defined him
Christopher Morel dashed to his locker in the Cubs complex in the Dominican Republic and went straight for his glove. He couldn’t believe the words he had just heard from the doctor regarding his life-changing injury.
Morel had been in an accident where shattered glass had lacerated his left arm and wrist and his left eye. The feeling in his left arm was slim and there was worry that he would lose his vision.
“My doctor told me there was no cure and I couldn’t play baseball again,” the 22-year-old rookie said.
So, he slipped on his glove onto his left hand, grabbed a baseball with his right and tossed it up in the air.
The ball came back down and hit him flat in the face.
Morel was devastated and humiliated. He ran to the bathroom and began to cry.
The moment could have broken him.
Instead, it defined him.
Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia, parents share emotional reunion
Daniel Palencia walked off the mound at Wrigley Field on May 12, glanced into the Cubs crowd and saw a pair of familiar but rarely seen faces.
María Silva and Damaso Palencia were amongst the 32,371 fans at the Cubs home ballpark that night. Daniel Palencia’s parents made the trek from San Carlos, Venezuela, to Chicago to watch their son pitch as a major leaguer for the first time.
“My parents hadn’t seen me yet professionally here, and my parents were really emotional being here,” the right-hander said. “Super happy to have them here, live that experience here and to live out a dream that every kid has, to have their parents watch them in the big leagues.”
It was an emotional trip. His parents spent about two weeks and watched their flame-throwing son pitch at Wrigley Field and at Miami’s LoanDepot Park. Palencia first came to the United States in 2021, a year after signing with the A’s as a minor-league free agent. It’s a traditional path many Latin American players face – they’re sent off to the United States barely knowing the language and by themselves.
The unique sibling rivalry that will occur during Cubs-Tigers series
Thanksgiving at the Horan household in New Jersey is usually your typical, American celebration of the fall holiday.
There’s football on television and the oven works overtime for a scrumptious feast. Jasmine, the youngest of the family, handles the desserts – an amateur baker, she prides herself in offering plenty of options.
“Blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, sometimes chocolate cream pie,” the Chicago Cubs manager of baseball operations said. “Just way too many pies that we don’t necessarily need, but I’m big on pie.”
Her older brother, Beau, helps, but is more of a laid-back, go-with-the-flow type. As the assistant director of research and development for the Detroit Tigers, Beau enjoys spending the rare time back at home with his mom and three other siblings. He doesn’t see them too often. When his Tigers host the Cubs this weekend, it will be one of the few times during the baseball season that he sees his little sister Jasmine.
The holidays, are usually that time for family bonding. But Thanksgiving in 2019 in the Horan household was vastly different. Jasmine wasn’t going 100 miles per hour or cranking out pies. She sulked in her room, isolated from the rest of her family while stressing about the repercussions of a massive decision.
Had she made the worst mistake of her life?
Get to know Juan ‘Pipi’ Cabreja, the unsung hero on the Cubs coaching staff
As a minor leaguer, Juan “Pipi” Cabreja would pray daily with a simple request.
“I would ask God to help me reach the big leagues,” the Cubs staff assistant said.
He realizes now, he should have been a little more specific.
“I never asked him to do it as a player,” Cabreja said with a smile. “But as a coach, I reached it.”
Cabreja has reached the pinnacle of baseball and is a crucial piece on David Ross’ coaching staff, acting as a liaison for many young Latino ballplayers. He’s been a factor for all the young players who reach the major leagues and help them adjust to life in “The Show.”
“’Pipi’ for me is a father inside of baseball,” young, charismatic rookie Christopher Morel said. “He’s never left me alone.”
Spreading his wings: Manny Rodríguez’ inspiring journey from humble beginnings to big leagues
Try as he might, Manuel Rodríguez couldn’t hold back the tears.
Who could blame him?
The Cubs’ rookie pitcher was on the phone with his parents, Manuel Sr. and Rocío Caamal, as they celebrated just after he made his major league debut Friday night. They recalled all the moments that led up to Rodríguez’s debut.
There was the time he picked up a baseball for the first time, the time he first signed up for youth baseball at 10. They reminisced about the countless hours the elder Manuel would spend with him playing catch after working all day driving a taxi around Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
But there was one memory that stood out above the rest. It was a conversation that made their eyes moist as they smiled and celebrated his once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Andy Martínez 