Chicago Cubs' rookie third baseman Matt Shaw missed Sunday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds to go to Charlie Kirk's funeral in Arizona. The team didn't make his absence known before the game and fans were confused in the ninth inning, when Craig Counsell did not use Shaw as a pinch-runner for Moises Ballesteros, who walked to start the final frame in a 1-0 game.
Shaw's absence was revealed after the Cubs were swept in Cincinnati. The loss for Chicago clinched the NL Central for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Shaw and Kirk had become friends as they met each other this past offseason in Arizona. They both lived in the same apartment complex. Prior to Tuesday night's series opener against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field Shaw spoke to reporters and explained his decision to leave the team and attend the memorial.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
Kirk’s wife, Erika, reached out to Shaw asking if he would come to the memorial, which he attended with his wife, Danielle.
Shaw said he spoke with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell about leaving the team for the memorial and discussed the situation with four or five Cubs veterans because he felt turmoil over whether to go. He asked those unnamed teammates what he should do and said they gave him a lot of support and really good advice in those moments.
“I made sure that everybody I talked to, I had their support, that they knew why I was going, that I wasn’t leaving just to leave, that it was something that was really important to my faith,” Shaw said. “It was really nice to see how everyone was able to support me in that moment.
“I felt as though it was something that was really important for me to do. … I was very thankful for how the team responded, allowing me to do that was really special.”
MLB gives teams the opportunity to place a player on the bereavement list to give them 3-7 days off for a death or serious illness in their immediate family, allowing for that player to be replaced on the roster. Shaw's absence to attend Kirk's memorial did not qualify, so he needed permission from the Cubs to leave on Sunday.
On Tuesday night, Mets' play-by-play man Gary Cohen brought up Shaw's decision to not play on Sunday for the Cubs and characterized the situation as weird. Fill-in color man Todd Zeile, who played 16 years in the majors, discussed Shaw's decision and said it was unusual and unprecedented, specifically because it wasn't known until after Sunday's game was over for the Cubs.
Cohen has received the brunt of the backlash since those comments.
As for Shaw, he's not too worried about any of the criticism.
Asked whether he is concerned about backlash because of the politics involved, Shaw said, “I’m not concerned at all.”
“My connection with Charlie was through our faith, that’s something that drives me every day,” Shaw said. “That’s the reason why I’m able to do what I do every day, and that’s something I’m extremely thankful for. I know without my faith and without the many blessings I’ve been given in my life that I wouldn’t be here, able to talk to you guys, able to help this team eventually go and win championships. So that’s something I feel really, really blessed about.
Shaw said he had not followed Kirk’s content, which includes podcasts and videos, because he hasn’t had any social media accounts for the last four years. He was then asked if he had heard anything since Kirk’s death about his content.
“I think that he talks about a lot of really big questions, I think that everyone thinks about a lot of things like you’re asking, and the reason Charlie and I connected so close was because of our faith, and that’s something that drives me every single day,” Shaw replied. “That’s something that I think about all the time.
“So if people are wondering who I am and what I stand for, I’d say that my faith and the many blessings I’ve been given is why I’m able to be here, and I just want to make sure that I can give that back to people, that I can support people around me, that I can love people around me the same way that I’ve been blessed and the reason I’m in this situation, and I’m very thankful for that.”
Shaw helped the Cubs win on Wednesday night, going 3-for-4 with a home run in Chicago's 10-3 win over New York.
