Want to bond with your new baby, athlete dads? Better not miss a game. Miles Mikolas had worked his entire nine-year career for this opportunity, and when he finally earned it, he had to walk away. On May 21, the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher threw his first major league complete game, a shutout. Not long thereafter, he earned his first All-Star selection. But life had other plans. The day before the July 17 All-Star Game, Mikolas’ wife, Lauren, went into early labor with the couple’s twins. Mikolas flew to Jupiter, Florida, to be present for the twins’ birth and subsequent stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. The twins — and Lauren — are fine, and Mikolas returned to the mound, helping lead the Cardinals to a strong finish this season. But when his family needed him during that All-Star week in July, he was able to be there, no questions asked, thanks to Major League Baseball’s paternity leave policy. |