'Truly the miracle of life': Langeliers in awe of wife, 1st baby

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Shea Langeliers did not think it was possible to have a greater admiration for his wife, Raegan, than he already had. Then came the birth of their first child.

The whole process was eye-opening for the Athletics catcher as he watched Raegan carry their son -- Owen Wade, born on Sunday morning -- over the past nine months.

Langeliers has always maintained that Raegan, who played college soccer at Baylor University and is now a doctor of physical therapy, is the most athletic of the two. Pregnancy did not stop her one bit from keeping up that active lifestyle, as she was still doing plenty -- even into her third trimester.

“That’s just my wife,” Langeliers said with a laugh. “That’s who she is. She’s a workout junkie. She’s the healthiest person I know, with what she eats, how she works out and how she takes care of herself. … I think everything she was doing actually helped the baby. Owen is really healthy, and he came out with everything going really well.”

Langeliers returned to the A’s from paternity leave on Thursday and was emotional while describing the journey he went on with Raegan, which quickly escalated Saturday night when her water broke while the two were out for dinner. She went into labor soon after and welcomed Owen to the world the next morning.

“I tried not to be so stressed out, because it was very intense to see her go through that,” Langeliers said. “She was designed to be able to do that, so it was kind of understanding that and taking a deep breath. … To birth our baby boy, there’s a whole new level of love and respect and understanding what [she went] through to make that happen. It’s truly the miracle of life.”

It wasn’t easy for Langeliers to leave Raegan and Owen, but he made sure to honor their new son by slugging a majestic two-run homer in his first at-bat back on Thursday night against the Phillies.

The A’s will return home from their current road trip on Sunday night, providing the 28-year-old backstop with some time to take in his wife’s first Mother’s Day as a new mom.

“It’s been awesome just being able to look at him while she’s holding him,” Langeliers said. “It’s really special. It’s like graduating into that next chapter of life. I almost feel older now, like I have to be more responsible and stuff like that. I think that’s just part of it. A really cool experience that both of us will never forget.”