Balancing Fatherhood in the Major Leagues

Standing in the center of the diamond, under the beaming sun, Texas Rangers right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning grips a baseball seam between his fingers.

He locks eyes with the catcher’s glove, waiting for a signal before nodding in approval. The stadium crowd awaits in anticipation as the next pitch could change the outcome of the game. Dunning exhales, lifts his left leg, leans his body forward and lets it air, leaving everything he’s got on the field.

Away from the mound, however, expectations are different. The pressure of all eyes in a stadium filled with cheering fans soon fades away, and the only set of eyes on him are from one person.

In those moments, he knows he’s just a dad.

“There’s days where you have bad outings – and you kinda come back a little pissed off,” Dunning said. “But then it’s like you have this little 2-month-old who is staring at you that has no idea what’s happened in the world. And he has no care that I just went and gave up nine runs or pitched a perfect game.

“When I get home he gets that humble little reset where it’s like, you know, what I am doing, it’s not so bad.”

Professional baseball players spend the majority of their lives training, trying to improve their performance. The path from Little Leagues to the collegiate level, and then to the majors is laid out to set up players for success.

For a starting pitcher, it means using every motion, every game and every spring training session to enhance their level of play. However, nothing could prepare a professional pitcher, or anyone for that matter, on how to be a father.

“I feel like every unknown there’s always some scared feelings. Growing up for me there weren’t a lot of kids around,” Dunning said. “So it was that unknown of what’s to come and then it’s like, son was born and two days later they’re pushing us out of the hospital. We’re going home and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to do with this thing.’”

In May 2023, Dunning was set to start on the mound in the finale of the three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. At that point in the season, he had pitched in 12 games and was 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 26 strikeouts. But his 13th appearance would have to wait.

The Rangers would have to miss one of the hottest pitchers in baseball at the time … but for a good reason. Dunning was placed on the MLB’s Paternity Leave List as his wife, Rachel Dunning, and he welcomed their son Mack into the world.

Oddly enough, 12 other Rangers players welcomed a new baby during the 2023 World Series run, according to the Dallas Morning News. They each had to quickly learn how to balance a new life with a newborn and play professional baseball.

“You are happy for them, it’s such a big moment,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “But it is often an adjustment for them and for a team. The moment is amazing, but you also wonder, ‘Will they get their rest, how will the responsibilities affect them?’”

Dunning posted a 3.70 ERA across 172 2/3 innings as a swingman for the eventual World Series champs that 2023 season. However, the rigorous schedule and constant travel for road matchups wasn’t easy.

“That whole year was just a roller coaster of emotions of just being [in] the newborn stage. He’s not getting a lot of sleep and I’m in Texas playing and I’m getting eight hours a night,” he described with frustration. “I feel awful and feel like I’m ditching my family, stuff like that.”

Dunning credited his successful efforts in balancing family and baseball to his “rock,” his wife Rachel. She holds the fort down and wears the pants in the relationship, he added proudly with no hesitation.

The biggest advice he shared to any new fathers balancing life as a professional athlete is to communicate with your significant other and decide what works best for both of you.

“But when you sit down and you talk and then you have that — this is the plan, the course of action we want to take, it makes everything a lot easier. Makes it a lot smoother,” he emphasized. “Just being honest with your significant other and being there to support each other no matter what [helps].”

Fast forward to 2025 during Arizona spring training, Dunning isn’t only facing the challenge of balancing life away from his son, who is now in his “terrible twos,” and his wife with a daughter on the way. The former starting pitcher was recently placed on outright waivers after he did not make the Rangers’ 2025 Opening Day roster.

During the 2024 season, the pitcher opened the rotation and posted a 3.94 ERA across his first nine starts. As the year wore on, he suffered a right rotator cuff strain and continued to struggle with the injury as his ERA slumped to 5.31 in 94 innings.

The Rangers hope to have him back at his World Series performance level for the 2025 season. However, Dunning started the season with Triple-A Round Rock while he looks to improve and return to the majors.

Despite each challenging setback he faces, the 30-year-old father looks for a positive, cherishing each moment he spends with his son.

“It’s awesome when he starts saying new words and he walks for the first time. It’s amazing,” he said. “But, all those humble times that you have – the no sleep, and the guilt that you feel when your son gets sick, where you wish it was you and not him. You know, all those times like you’re just caring for him, I cherish every second.”

Category: Cactus League, Texas Rangers, Top Stories
Tagged: 2023 World Series 2025 MLB Season Dane Dunning Father MLB MLB Season MLB Spring Training Pitcher Rangers Spring Training Texas Texas Rangers