Former Baseball Star Ben Grieve Says He’s Enjoying Life as a Stay-at-Home Dad
"The best way to describe my life would be the life of a nanny."
From MLB.com's Ben Grieve: Former A's top prospect now enjoying time with his kids (9/26/08):
In his Major League debut against the cross-bay rival Giants 11 years ago, Ben Grieve turned heads, cracked bats and woke up a dismal A's crowd while tallying three doubles and five RBIs. The youngster's September callup provided a glimpse of hope for a rebuilding Oakland team in the midst of a slow but sure journey toward a 97-loss season.
At the time, the 21-year-old ballplayer with the long, easy left-handed stroke who reminded many of Ted Williams was just a kid -- well, more like Billy Beane's golden boy to be exact.
American League Rookie of the Year days followed. Yet so did some not-so-great days. In fact, said days turned into years for the once-promising outfielder, who called it quits after being released in Spring Training by the White Sox in 2005. Now 32, Grieve is three years removed from the big league scene but is keeping busy with a couple golden children of his own.
"The best way to describe my life would be the life of a nanny," said Grieve, who recently spoke about his hectic yet happy domestic life from his home in Dallas, Texas.
Grieve can thank 5-year-old Bode and 3-year-old Kaia for "keeping me pretty busy," he proudly said of his kids with a tired laugh after yet another long day of daddy duties.
His children were not around to watch him post a .312 average during his first month as a Major Leaguer. Nor were they alive to see their father earn a trip to the 1998 All-Star Game in the middle of the same season that earned him AL rookie honors. That just means all the more bedtime stories for Grieve to tell, though.
"I have DVDs that I've kept around just to prove to Bode I actually played," he said. "I finished up playing for the Cubs and he went to a couple games, but I don't think he really remembers.
"I think he understands that I played baseball. I just don't think he realizes that most dads aren't there every day like I am. He has it lucky, I guess... (more...)
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