Kennedy on daughter's birth, recent pitching improvement

Veteran starter Ian Kennedy stopped by Padres Social Hour on Tuesday to discuss his recent pitching performances and the marathon day that he had when starting on the day of the birth of his fourth daughter. Kennedy, who was initially slated to start on July 31st in Miami, was scratched from his start due to his wife going into labor. 

But after bad weather closed the airport and prevented him from catching a plane ride home, Kennedy had to make a tough decision about watching his daughter's birth and starting a Major League game: 

"Another thing that played in as a factor was that that was trade deadline day," quipped Kennedy. "Even my wife played it along the same factors and said 'hey, do you want to pitch tonight and then just come home and have three days with the baby? Because you're probably not going to make it home at this point." 

Kennedy went on to describe how the flurry of 'what-ifs' and other scenarios flooded his mind, causing him some anxiety as the day went on. "I was like, you know what? I don't know if I can pitch with this on my mind. I just want to come home. I don't know if I'm going to pitch tonight, I don't even know if I'm still going to be a Padre… man, I wish I knew. I just wanted 4:00pm (the trade deadline) to pass quick." 

Ultimately however, the weather made the final decision for him. "I looked out the window, and if there wasn't a sign from God that I needed to stay… It looked like a hurricane was outside." Said Kennedy. "There was lightning, thunder, the wind and the plane was moving so I was like… 'Okay. I think I'm supposed to be here." 

To hear more about the rest of Kennedy's long day in Miami, including the stories behind how well he pitches when his daughters were born and his big win on Monday after struggling early, then be sure to watch the entire interview in the video above. For more interviews, highlights and Padres content just like this, check out padres.com/socialhour.