{"id":665357,"date":"2026-04-05T22:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/665357\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T22:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:33:15","slug":"marlins-give-closer-rare-start-to-allow-trip-home-for-childs-birth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/665357\/","title":{"rendered":"Marlins Give Closer Rare Start to Allow Trip Home for Child’s Birth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Marlins’ decision to adjust their rotation to allow a pitcher to be present for the birth of his child reflects a growing emphasis on work-life balance in professional sports.NYC Today<\/p>\n

The Miami Marlins gave closer Pete Fairbanks a rare start on Sunday against the New York Yankees to allow him to leave the team and get home for the birth of his child. Fairbanks’ wife was scheduled to have labor induced on Monday morning, and the team planned to put him on paternity leave. Fairbanks threw a 27-pitch first inning, allowing a 3-run homer, before being relieved by left-hander Andrew Nardi in the second inning.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Allowing a player to leave the team for the birth of a child is a common practice in Major League Baseball, but it’s rare for a team to adjust its starting rotation to accommodate this. The Marlins’ decision to give Fairbanks a spot start demonstrates their commitment to supporting their players’ personal lives and work-life balance.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Fairbanks, a 32-year-old right-hander, had last pitched on Tuesday. His previous start was on September 21, 2020, when he pitched 1 2\/3 innings for the Tampa Bay Rays against the New York Mets. The Marlins said Fairbanks was starting instead of Chris Paddack, with the game beginning after a 3-hour, 35-minute rain delay.<\/p>\n

Fairbanks’ wife was set to have labor induced on Monday morning.The game started around 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Pete Fairbanks<\/p>\n

A 32-year-old right-handed pitcher for the Miami Marlins who was given a rare start to allow him to leave the team and get home for the birth of his child.<\/p>\n

Andrew Nardi<\/p>\n

A left-handed pitcher for the Miami Marlins who relieved Fairbanks in the bottom of the second inning.<\/p>\n

Ben Rice<\/p>\n

A player for the New York Yankees who hit a 3-run homer off Fairbanks in the first inning.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a> <\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Marlins’ decision to give Fairbanks a spot start demonstrates their commitment to supporting their players’ personal lives and work-life balance, which is an important consideration for professional sports teams as they aim to attract and retain top talent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Marlins’ decision to adjust their rotation to allow a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2395],"tags":[5,1816,778,58,4171,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-665357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-marlins","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-marlins","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-marlins","12":"tag-miamimarlins","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116354483420721522","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}