This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MILWAUKEE -- Eric Haase always put baseball first, but where was it getting him? It was 2014, he was 21 years old and three years into his pro career in the Cleveland organization, and he was repeating the Low-A level. Meanwhile, life off the field was moving fast. Haase met his sweetheart when they were freshmen at Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Mich., when they were freshmen and they were married by the time they were 19.
It was as if the two most important forces in his life were pulling against each other. Should he focus on baseball? Or was it time to start a family?
“It became very clear, very fast, that baseball might not work out,” said Haase, who is now 32 and in his second season as a backup catcher for the Brewers. “It was just taking so long to get through the Minor Leagues.
“It was one of those things where we weren’t going to wait to live our lives.”
So, Eric and Maria opted to start their family on their own time. Today they are proud parents of four children aged 11 down to 3: son Santino (who goes by Sonny) and three daughters named Francesca, Giorgia and Cecilia.
Maria was pregnant with Sonny by the time Haase departed for Spring Training in 2014, and a couple of months later, he was the only father in the Low-A clubhouse who wasn’t a coach or a member of the support staff. Sonny was born on May 21 that year.
“I can’t even imagine being a dad in Low-A,” said Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby, whose wife, Avery, is due to give birth to the couple’s first child next month. “But baseball players are such great adapters. Especially in the Minor Leagues, you just play the hands you’re dealt.”
Where was Ashby when he was in Low-A?
“I was just out of college and I lived with Brice Turang,” Ashby said, laughing. “I can’t imagine being a dad then.”
For Haase, it changed his perspective on everything. He was in Double-A and the prospect-packed Arizona Fall League in ‘16 and made it to the Majors for the first time in ‘18. In 2020, Haase was acquired by the Tigers, a blessing for the growing family because it meant Dad would play at home.
And yes, Dad was his most important job title. When Haase was named American League Rookie of the Month for July 2021 at a time he was the Tigers’ surprise leader with 18 home runs, he was at home mowing the lawn while his kids played.
Maria shared the moment on social media and it went viral.
Since then, Haase has played for the Tigers, for the Guardians again and then for the Brewers, who signed Haase ahead of the 2024 season. By then, their six-member family was at full strength.
“The last couple of years have been all hands on deck,” he said. “You just figure it out.”
The kids finished school in early June and have moved to Milwaukee for the summer. The family rents a home in Oak Creek, Wis., and they have had fun exploring downtown Milwaukee and the area’s many lakes. The Haases’ youngest and Jake Bauers’ daughter have become particularly fast friends.
“Looking back now, I’m glad that baseball worked out,” Haase said. “But I’m also glad that we didn’t wait. My chance in baseball might have never come.”