The Road to the Show: A Wife's Perspective

(Christina and Cole Kimball, Jr. at Chiefs game)

The Road to the Show: A Wife's Perspective 
By: Donato DiRenzo II

             Christina Kimball knows what it takes to make it to the big leagues. No, not PEDs or even promising potential. “It’s a lot of man hours,” she said. Christina’s husband, Cole Kimball, was drafted out of college by the Washington Nationals in 2006. She has been with him every step of the journey.
           
             Today, she stands by a stroller parked next to one of the few stadium chairs on the main level of NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y. It is August 6 and she just watched as the Chiefs lost, 7-6 to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, in the 13th inning from a postponed game from July 12th that left the score tied at 6 through 11 innings. 
            
              She had just came up from the front row where she talked briefly with her husband as he stood by the Chiefs bullpen, off to the side down the third base line. She was waiting for the  regularly scheduled game that was about to follow; a game which would see the Chiefs get revenge with a 3-2 win.

            “I met Cole when we were 19 years old in college,” she said. “At 19 he told me he was going to be a professional baseball player. I laughed in his face.” A couple of notable performances, including an MVP winning performance in a college all-star game, and a power fastball helped turn his dream into a reality.

            Kimball spent the next few years bouncing around the Nationals different minor league teams on all levels. It wasn't until 2011 that he got his first opportunity in the big leagues. He appeared in 12 games before tearing the rotator cuff in his throwing arm and requiring surgery.

            “That was probably the toughest part of his career,” Christina said. For someone who worked his way into the big leagues, his power fastball was starting to prove he belonged. The timing of the injury just proved fate can be a cruel mistress.

           As someone who only knows to go “110 mph” according to his wife, it is hard to imagine not being able to throw a ball for almost two years. After his long rehab and recovery, Cole has made his way back and is currently on the Nationals' Triple A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs. While he has not had great success in the limited opportunities since being back, Christina said she doesn't worry.

             “My husband doesn't know how to fail,” she said. “He just doesn't. It’s not an option to him. It’s one of my favorite things about him. And to be honest these guys have to think like that.”

            She knows most people perceive baseball players as having glamorous, easy lives but she knows the reality. “Not all players go through the levels of baseball,” she said. For every Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper, there are many more stories like Cole Kimball. “Most are guys who basically dedicate their lives just trying to make it in this sport,” she said.

           A sharp cry and the clattering of sunglasses hitting the concrete floor break the brief moment of reflection. Someone inherited dad's arm. Or the little guy in the stroller just wants moms attention. He settles down upon Christina taking him into her arms. Giving birth to their first child, Cole Jr., nine months ago, was cause for joy and celebration. But, it also made a hard situation that much more complicated. 

          They have a home in New Jersey, which luckily is close enough for her to make the drive for the home stands. Modern technology has helped as well. “Thank God for Skype and Facetime,” she said. “He can pick his daddy out of the bullpen better than me!”

          But with spring training starting in early February and the season not ending until September, it is a challenge for the whole family.

             “We as a family, we are the road to the show,” she said. “I could cry, every step of the way we’ve supported and done this because he’s going to rise again. And that's what these guys live on everyday.”

            She calls it something of a double life for guys like her husband who have families not living in the cities they play in. Trying to pursue a demanding dream and live normal lives at the same time. “We tell daddy he wears his Superman cape when he’s out on the field,” she said while snuggling Cole Jr.

            As hard as it is, she says she loves the baseball life, and truth be told she wishes his season would last just a little longer. But only because playing in October would mean Cole made it back into the big leagues. Either way, her opinion of him won’t change, “In my eyes my husband has already made it,” she said. “He is a success story.”