LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Max Michael Medlen was one week old Tuesday, and first-time dad Kris Medlen was still beaming.
“It’s unexplainable,” the right-hander said Tuesday, before the first spring-training workout for Braves pitchers and catchers. “It’s a feeling I’ve waited my entire life for, and when it happened I had no idea what was happening. It was awesome. Especially, like, being invited in and helping her out during the delivery.”
Nicole Medlen and the baby will drive to Orlando this week with Nicole’s father, who lives in Augusta and will return home soon after. Then it’ll be Kris and Nicole with their baby in what should be an interesting spring training for the young family.
Medlen, 27, was the National League’s best pitcher in the second half last season, going 9-0 with a 0.97 ERA in 12 games after moving to the starting rotation and winning NL Pitcher of the Month awards in August and September.
He accepted an invitation to pitch for Team USA in next month’s World Baseball Classic, but withdrew in order to be with Nicole and their baby during spring training. After spending the past couple of days around the team, Medlen said he was even more pleased with his decision to skip the WBC.
As for potential sleep deprivation during spring training after Nicole and the baby get to town this week, Medlen said it won’t be an issue, based on the first days they spent together at home in Atlanta.
“She lets me sleep, then I’ll work out and do my thing, come back and watch him while she naps,” he said. “I slept nine hours the first night the baby was home. I got up for 30 seconds when he started screaming, then I went right back to bed. That’s my earthquake training from when I was younger.” (Medlen is a Southern California native.)
He said there was no special significance to his son’s “triple-M” name, Max Michael Medlen.
“I wanted to name him Maximus. I’m just like, in love with the gladiators stuff,” he said. “But she wouldn’t let me make any of the additions to Max – Maximus, Maximillian, nothing like that.” He laughed. “It’s a buzz-kill. But I'm already calling him (Maximus)."
Now that Medlen has joined catcher Brian McCann as new fathers, Fox Sports South is going to play off of that element in one of its upcoming Braves commercials. In the spot, there will be a close-up shot of Medlen and McCann talking to each other during an in-game meeting on the mound, holding their gloves in front of their faces as players often do to prevent opponents from lip-reading.
Then when they break up the meeting and McCann trots back toward home plate, the camera angle widens to show both Medlen and McCann with baby carriers strapped to their chests, each carrying a live baby.
“Dude, that’s hilarious,” Braves pitcher Tim Hudson said.
