Jonathon Niese watches birth of child on Facetime after start against Dodgers
Life threw a curveball at both of Friday night’s scheduled starters for the Dodgers-Mets games at Citi Field in New York. With both of their wives due to give birth, Zack Greinke and Jonathan Niese each had a decision to make about making their scheduled appearance or returning to be by their wife’s side.
For Greinke, the call was to fly home to be with his wife, Emily, who gave birth to a baby boy, Bode Nicholas Greinke, on Friday afternoon. He will return to New York to start on Sunday, where he’ll look to extend his amazing 43 2/3 scoreless innings streak and inch closer to the record established by former Dodger right-hander Orel Hershiser.
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As for Jonathon Niese, he made his scheduled start, but only ended up pitching three innings while allowing six earned runs. According to the New York Daily News, Niese immediately left the stadium after being removed to make a flight back to Toledo, OH. Though he didn’t make it back in time to witness the birth in person, it’s reported he was able to watch the delivery of his son via FaceTime before the plane took off.
Technology is pretty awesome, isn’t it?
As the story notes, the decision was left completely up to Niese. He was on call up until 90 minutes before the first pitch, but elected to stay with his team to make the start. Though it wasn’t his best outing, perhaps because his mind was elsewhere, his teammates were appreciative of his commitment to them and his efforts.
“It shows the type of guy he is,” said catcher Kevin Plawecki, who was behind the plate for Niese’s start. “He gave us 100 percent, and I know he wanted to be with his wife, today especially. I know he was bummed when he found out during the game that he had missed it. So (I’m) just happy that he (was) able to get back there to her now, and he did a great job given the circumstances.”
The Mets will now place Niese on paternity leave. It’s unknown when he’ll make his next start, but the rotation called for him to pitch Thursday in San Diego, just ahead of the trade deadline. Niese’s name has also been involved in some trade rumors, so it’s even possible he’s made his final Mets start.
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As for Niese’s decision to pitch on Friday, people will criticize, but there’s really no place for anybody to judge him. From the outside looking in, one can only imagine the pressures both Niese and Greinke felt to balance their commitments and to handle their responsibilities as fathers to be. There’s no wrong decision, there’s only their decision and what they each felt was right given the circumstances.
All that truly matters is the health of their new born children and their happiness.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
