This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, we decided to check in with Giants reliever Tyler Rogers, who became a first-time dad after he and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their son, Jack Ryan Rogers, on April 12. Jack's arrival capped an emotional 24 hours for Rogers, who faced off against his twin brother, Taylor, for the first time in the Majors at Oracle Park the previous night. Rogers didn't get a chance to stick around to watch Taylor close out the game for the Padres, as he had to hop on a red-eye flight to Indiana, arriving at the hospital just in time to witness his first child come into the world the following morning.
Here are Rogers' thoughts on his fatherhood experience thus far:
On how his fatherhood journey has compared to what he expected it to be:
"He’s a lot cuter than I thought he was going to be. It’s been great. It’s been so rewarding. I’m just so blessed and lucky in life."
On his most vivid memories leading up to Jack’s birth:
"That was a crazy 24 hours. When my brother was here playing against us that night before, we were both more excited about the arrival of Jack than almost the game. That kind of took over the conversation. Just getting back there and being able to be there for the birth was very nice and lucky, I guess you could say. I can’t help but think of how much of a rock star my wife was through the whole birth. Women are incredible. Holy cow. … You know your life is going to change forever, and you want it to change."
On balancing fatherhood and baseball:
"I’m trying to make a conscious effort to be present wherever I’m at. When I’m home, I want to leave baseball at the field and be 100 percent dad and not worry about the on-field things, and vice versa, too. When I’m here, I’m always thinking about him, but I know my wife has got it held down when I’m gone.
"It’s funny, he actually sleeps best when he’s at the game. It must be from when my wife was pregnant at the games. That’s when he gets his best sleep, at the stadium."
On the best piece of advice he got prior to becoming a father:
"I asked a lot of people for advice, and a lot of people said they didn’t want to give advice. They just said to enjoy it and really be in the moment with them. I think [assistant pitching coach] J.P. [Martinez] told me that days go by slow, but years go by fast."