TAMPA, Fla. — When the days rehabbing his torn PCL became long or monotonous, or both, Braden Shewmake’s motivation was at home waiting for him when he finished.
“It was real tough,” he said. “But I had my wife and my son down here (in Florida) with me. Being able to go home to them and play with him was always the best part of my day, to be honest with you, and (I’d) get done here and be looking forward to getting home and hanging out with the kid and wife.”
On June 15 of last year, Braden’s wife, Emily, gave birth to their son, Micah.
That day, Braden’s perspective on baseball changed.
“There’s always something more,” he said. “It’s hard to take yourself too serious on the baseball field knowing you get to come play a kid’s game, now that you have a kid ... . He’s not fully walking, talking and all that yet, but when he does, and if and when he wants to play baseball, it’s gonna be fun to just watch him play.
“There’s nothing better in my opinion than watching a kid play this game. Like I said, it is a kid’s game, so just being able to not take yourself too serious, have fun when you’re out there. Just keep playing, just keep going.”
Braden is enjoying seeing Micah begin to grow up before his eyes. He remembers the first time Micah laughed – like, really laughed. Micah is beginning to stand up and hold onto things. Nowadays, he doesn’t fall over when his parents sit him on the floor.
“He’s starting to do human-like things. He’s not a potato anymore,” Shewmake said. “It’s kind of cool to just watch him every day – it seems like there’s something new.”
On the field, Shewmake, a shortstop, has experienced what seems like it could be a frustrating trajectory. Last spring, he appeared somewhat close to the majors, a depth piece the Braves could call up if anything unexpected happened to someone on the big-league roster.
Then he suffered an unlucky injury: On a collision with a teammate in left field, Shewmake tore his PCL. Within days, the Braves called up Vaughn Grissom because they needed an infielder after Orlando Arcia injured his hamstring.
“I hate to sit here and play a what-if game,” Shewmake said. “It’s not anything that I can control. You’re going to try to make a play and something freak happens. It happens. You have to move on from it. The more you sit and try to think about that stuff, the more that it sits on your shoulders and weighs on you. Trying to be optimistic about whatever opportunity comes next. Just keep moving.”
Shewmake might be in the same spot as last year. Yes, Grissom has surpassed him at this point, but Shewmake could conceivably be a call-up at some point if the Braves need it. The former first-round pick from 2019 might not have lost much ground in the system.
“I think he’s maturing,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I see a better player now than in the past. I think the more he plays, he figures things out, he’s getting stronger and is making himself into a really good player.”
“He’s gotten a lot better, and he’s just a pretty dang good player,” said Bryce Elder, a University of Texas alum who played Shewmake (a Texas A&M alum) in college before the two became minor-league teammates.
Shewmake’s defense is ahead of his bat. Before the injury last year, he had a .715 OPS over 278 at-bats for Triple-A Gwinnett. Shewmake said he feels he’s taken steps in the right direction offensively and has received positive feedback from Braves hitting coaches Kevin Seitzer and Bobby Magallanes.
What does Shewmake hope to do this season?
“It’s so hard to say,” he said. “There’s just so much uncertainty through 162 games. I just want to put myself in the best position that if the time does come, I’ll be able to be ready and help contribute to the team in Atlanta.”
As Shewmake pushes to make his major-league debut, his son, Micah, gives him a fatherly perspective. “I gotta be a dad first, is the way I’ve looked at it,” Shewmake said.
One day, Micah will probably play baseball. So, too, will his cousin, who is about 4 months younger.
But Braden will not coach them. No, that will be a job for his dad – Micah’s grandfather. Shane Shewmake, Braden’s dad, is the baseball coach at the University of Texas at Dallas.
“He has that coaching experience,” Braden said. “That’s his forte, I’m going to let him do it. Let him handle the youngins.”
Shewmake is a shortstop in the Braves’ organization. He hopes to make it to the majors.
But that isn’t his only – or his most important – job.
“Especially when I get home, I gotta be a dad first,” Shewmake said. “Take care of what you do at the field, but once you get home, you got to be a dad and husband at that point. Having them with me at all times is big.”
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