2011 home run derby winner Robinson Cano, had an impressive showing while facing his father on the mound. The 27-year-old Cano edged Adrian Gonzalez by one homer in a final round and had an edge since he was so familiar with the pitcher.
But there was more said about the father-son combo than merely noting Cano’s comfort level with the man who has pitched to him since childhood. ESPN broadcaster John Kruk called the Cano win a “Field of Dreams” moment after Jose Cano hugged his son who leaped into his arms.
Kruk’s point is certainly an interesting one to contemplate.
Most players in Major League Baseball are likely to have had a father in their lives that introduced them to the game and became the first pitchers they faced as youngsters.
It isn’t only those that go on to play professional ball that feel that connection but the ritual of fathers bringing their sons to baseball games is also well documented.
In the recent “30 for 30” documentary entitled The House of Steinbrenner several men in attendance for the final game at old Yankee Stadium reminisced about their dads taking them to their first game in the “House that Ruth Built.” There were even three generation families represented in the interviews. Adult men got choked up when discussing the strong connection between playing or loving baseball and the relationship with their fathers and that brings us back to Jose and Robinson Cano.
Robinson, who is named after the late great icon Jackie Robinson, treasures his bond with his father and with the number of fatherless households growing in America, it spoke volumes the evening of the State Farm Home Run Derby.
Used with permission of the author.
Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.
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