Marlins manager Skip Schumaker had a proud dad moment as son gets first high school hit
A few hours after the Miami Marlins finished their spring training workout on Saturday at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex in Jupiter, first-year manager Skip Schumaker took a moment to be a proud dad.
On the other side of the country, his 15-year-old son, Brody, had logged the first hit of his freshman season for Santa Margarita Catholic High in California. Brody plays on the school’s junior varsity team.
Schumaker posted the video on his Instagram account of his son, a TCU commit and left-handed hitter who plays middle infield and wears No. 3, lacing a single up the middle and hustling down the line to first base.
“It was a big offseason, and then the high school season starts and he gets the monkey off his back [with the first hit],” Schumaker said Sunday. “Now he knows he can do it. He can play at that level. For me to see it on video is not ideal, but the good news is California has so many games in the fall that I felt like I’ve seen 40 games already of him at that level. A special moment just to see him grow up and do what he loves to do.”
This is the second consecutive year that Schumaker has been living away from his family during his baseball career. His family also remained in California when he was the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Before that, Schumaker spent four years with the San Diego Padres — about an hour drive away from the Orange County area where the Schumakers reside.
“My son’s a freshman in high school. My daughter’s in seventh grade,” Schumaker said at his introductory press conference on Nov. 3. “Uprooting them from their social life and family and friends — my in-laws live five minutes away and my parents live five minutes away. They have really good health, very lucky and blessed to have that type of dynamic there.”
That said, Schumaker said the family is slated to be in attendance for Opening Day on March 30 when the Marlins host the New York Mets at loanDepot park.
Schumaker is a big family man and talks with his kids and wife daily.
“FaceTime is gold,” Schumaker said. “It’s important to be present. I’ve told the coaching staff, ‘If your kids call, pick up.’”
As for whether Brody asks dad for baseball advice?
“I think he wants me to be dad,” Schumaker said. “That’s tough for me. I try really hard to just be dad.”
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