Colby Lewis Takes Heat From Sports Columnist For Attending Childbirth

Perhaps he wasn't invited to the baby shower?

To say the least, Dallas Observer columnist Richie Whitt really let Texas Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis have it this week for choosing to witness his second daughter entering the world instead of throwing a scheduled start.

One week ago, Lewis actually became the first player in Major League Baseball to utilize the league's new paternity leave list, which allows players 24 to 72 hours leave. Lewis' wife Jenny gave birth to daughter Elizabeth Grace last Wednesday in Bakersfield, Calif.

In Whitt's own words, "Follow me this way to some confusion":

Imagine if Jason Witten missed a game to attend the birth of a child. It's just, I dunno, weird. Wrong even.

Departures? Totally get it because at a funeral you're saying goodbye to someone for the last time. But an arrival is merely saying hello to someone you'll see the rest of your life.

Now Whitt is taking heat right back from his colleagues.

"I understand that there are trolls out there trying to get a rise out of folks and that they might otherwise be fine upstanding people," wrote NBC Sports' Craig Calcaterra. "But as a wise man once wrote, we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be. If you write idiotic things, for whatever reason, sorry, you’re an idiot."

Comments

[who38]

07:50 PM on 04/22/2011

"But an arrival is merely saying hello to someone you'll see the rest of your life."  Guess Whitt doesn't know much about the complications that often occur during childbirth. Does he have children?

[scrzbill]

07:40 PM on 04/22/2011

Lets just forget that childbirth results in the death or a child or both in many cases. Is a game more important than life? So much for the all life is sacred in Texas sports.

[who38]

07:51 PM on 04/22/2011

Exactly.  Lewis will not remember all of the games that he pitched in, but he will always remember the birth of his child.

[onehenry]

03:54 PM on 04/22/2011

I wonder if Whitt took off for the birth of his child. If he did I am sure he was not missed the next morning in the papers. If he did not take off, he would only show he has no understanding of caring for a loved one.

[ydrittmann]

12:05 PM on 04/22/2011

Lewis doesn't take heat, he throws it.

[stuff7321]

09:46 PM on 04/21/2011

There are 162 games a season. It's wrong for a father to begin the bonding process with his child and miss a game or two? It's the beginning of the season. Less than 2% of the games have been played. What is so critical now that a few games would matter that much? Men all of a sudden aren't required to commit to the family unit? But kudos to MLB brass for their family leave policy. There is nothing more important than family.

This is as ridiculous as when NBA players got upset with Vince Carter for going to his college graduation ceremony while his teammates were out doing the important work of visiting strip clubs and gambling the day and night before a playoff game! It's sad that family and education take a back seat to professional sports in some people's minds.

[anpu]

01:25 PM on 04/22/2011

Why is it that people get criticized for doing what is clearly the right thing? And your Vince Carter reference is good knowledge. I remember when he was ripped for attending his graduation. Sometimes athletes need to be congratulated for having their priorities straight.

[stuff7321]

04:14 PM on 04/22/2011

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Our collective psyche is entrenched in money and winning. Anything that isn't directly associated to those two things are ridiculed, and viewed as inconsequential. That's my guess at why the doing the right thing isn't "the right thing" anymore. I'm an absolute sports fanatic who will always openly support athletes who do the right thing. Bad behavior should never be rewarded. I stopped watching Charles Barkley when he criticized Vince for attending the graduation. I think he said something like the ceremony wasn't important, or that it didn't mean anything. I'm sure I don't have his exact quote. It has been quite a few years now :).

[tcnsrq]

05:30 PM on 04/21/2011

I think an individuals conscience is the unwritten rule here....you do what you feel is the right thing to do. I'm not sure why this reporter felt the need to intrude in this guys personal life and his decision to take a 2 - 3 day leave.

[prdamericanmom]

03:18 PM on 04/21/2011

Games come and go. Every baby is born ONCE. Get a clue, Mr. Whitt-less.

[Cedman]

03:09 PM on 04/21/2011

That is one of the most idiotic things I have ever read. There is an over abundance of stupid people saying stupid things thinking they are "controversial" when all they really are is stupid.

[who38]

07:52 PM on 04/22/2011

But this idiot gets PAID for saying stupid things.

[Jazmo]

02:38 PM on 04/21/2011

First of all, Elizabeth Grace is a lovely name. Secondly, especially since the league rules seem to encourage fathers to be responsible, this dude did the right thing. He has far more responsibility to Elizabeth Grace than he does to this bozo sports writer.

[shiny73]

02:29 PM on 04/21/2011

As a long-suffering (until last year) Rangers fan, I am so proud that Colby was there for the birth of his daughter! There will always be another game.

Unless we're 1 game back of the Angels at the end of the season...

Kidding folks, kidding.

[DRWMITCH]

01:46 PM on 04/21/2011

There will lots more ball games. If he had a little food poisoning he would have missed the rotation. Your daughter and wife will always know that you were there for the birth. Grandma has no idea you missed her burial. Go see you friends and relatives while they are alive and forget going to "honor" them at their service. It is a big respnsibility to be in the rotation on a MLB team and too be a team player, but it is only a game.

[mainemomma]

06:40 AM on 04/22/2011

Agreed, this Whitt fella has his priorities messed up.

[who38]

07:53 PM on 04/22/2011

Hear, hear.

[judithe]

01:23 PM on 04/21/2011

Craig Calcaterra sure 'manned-up' in his article taking to task Whitt, who certainly is no man. Loved it!

[dennissinned]

01:16 PM on 04/21/2011

"But an arrival is merely saying hello to someone you'll see the rest of your life." -- He's saying that because the baby came out fine. What if there had been complications that put the mother and/or the baby's lives in danger? In the grand scheme of things, baseball, or any sport, is not at all that important.

[houseofd]

01:16 PM on 04/21/2011

Lewis will never have regrets, but that schmo who wrote the article will.

[Daniel Rueters-Ward]

12:56 PM on 04/21/2011

Some people here are saying, well it's just an early season game so his kid's birth was more important, and other people are saying, if it were the playoffs, he'd have to be there for his team no matter what.

I guess I would understand if a particular player decided that he had to be there to support his team during the playoffs even it it meant missing the birth of his child - it's not what I would do, but I'd understand. But the idea that no player should skip a playoff game for any reason is just absurd. It should be considered alright if a player skips the deciding game of the World Series to be at something like this - literally. It's a great game - and it's also makes a lot of money - but it's a game.

[2D]

05:43 PM on 04/21/2011

Sandy Koufax sat out his start for game one of 1965 World Series ...... religious reasons