Daniel Murphy, Fatherhood, and the Abhorrence of Radio Hosts

New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy became a first time father the day before the 2014 regular season began, and like most responsible husbands and fathers, decided to be by his wife’s side when the baby was delivered. He then stayed by his wife and child’s side an extra two days on paternity leave, missing both Opening Day and the second game of the Mets-Nationals series. Before coming back into the lineup in an 8–2 loss against the Nationals, Murphy’s actions were criticized by sports radio hosts Boomer Esiason and Mike Francesa.

Esiason made a controversial comment about how Murphy should have asked his wife to undergo an emergency C-Section so that he wouldn’t miss any time during the regular season. The quote is as follows:

“Quite frankly, I would have said C-section before the season starts. I need to be at Opening Day. I’m sorry. This is what makes our money. This is how we’re going to live our life. This is going to give my child every opportunity to be a success in life. I’ll be able to afford any college I want to send my kid to because I’m a baseball player.”

Esiason wasn’t the only WFAN radio host to echo the job before family sentiment. Mike Francesa also made negative comments about Murphy’s situation:

“One day I understand. And in the old days they didn’t do that. But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. You’re a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help,”

To address the abhorrence that is Esiason and Francesa’s comments, let’s begin by addressing the C-Section comments that Esiason made. I’ll start off by saying that as someone who was delivered by emergency C-section, I am absolutely appalled by what Esiason is saying. It’s almost as if he’s saying that a c-section is more convenient, and less of a burden. And while I’m trying to wrap my head around Esiason’s talk of the long term, may I point out that the baby was literally born three days ago. Yes, the baby will be set in the long term because of what Murphy does for a living, we get that, but really, sometimes you do have to focus on the now, and the now is that Murphy became a father and actually acted like a father, staying by his wife’s side. And while his wife did have the C-section and Murphy ended up taking only three days, he could have taken more. Still, you have to applaud Murphy for his priorities. Look at Mariners catcher John Buck. Last year, he was granted paternity leave so that he could be by his wife’s side while their baby was born. Did you hear Esiason say that Buck’s wife should have made it easy and he should have immediately gone back? It’s also a good time to point out that Esiason, a former athlete himself, was still active when his son Gunnar was born.

Now, let’s look at Francesa’s comments. Probably the most offensive thing that he said in that quote was the “Hire a nurse”. Knowing that Francesa is the father of three children, let’s imagine that he did take paternity leave when his children were born. Would you have a bunch of listeners clamoring and saying that he should “hire a nurse” so that he could get back to his job immediately? Francesa is often viewed as poison for the other New York Sports teams. Listeners would recall back in 2011 when he tried to interview Darrelle Revis after he picked off a pass and ran it 100 yards for a touchdown, he continually badgered Revis about possible pass interference until Revis hung up on him. Francesa is also a Yankee fan who loves to bash the Mets on a continuing basis. However, WFAN somehow puts up with him. It’s a miracle he’s lasted this long as a Yankee guy on a Mets station.

Moving on from the character analysis, it’s clear that both analysts are so far removed from first time fatherhood that they feel that athletes aren’t human and shouldn’t have the right to spend time with their children. The thing about baseball though is that there are 162 games to play, and missing two just because of childbirth shouldn’t be considered as bad. It’s the beginning of the season; Mets fans would probably agree that given the choice between seeing one of 162 games and being at their wife’s side when their first child was born, they’d probably pick the child 99 times out of 100. You can see a game anytime between April and September, but the birth of your first child, you’ll only have a chance to witness in person once. If you can’t handle that responsibility, then perhaps you are unfit to be a father.

Nonetheless, I applaud Murphy for what he did, and I’m glad the Mets were completely behind him. On the emotional side, Murphy acted like a good father, and went the extra mile by staying by his wife’s side, On the professional side, it’s not like he left a gaping hole at second base. Eric Young is more than capable as a defensive replacement, plus his speed makes him a dangerous leadoff hitter.

I’m not going to call for Francesa and Esiason’s heads, but I feel that they need to understand the sensitivity of the situation before they make comments like that. There’s a fine line between professionalism and stupidity, and both of them clearly danced across that line.