This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian's Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- Justin Steele took a seat inside the Wrigley Field interview room earlier this season with his young son, Beau, on his lap. As the Cubs pitcher discussed his outing, Beau let out a few quiet roars as he surveyed the room with a small toy dinosaur clutched in each hand.
“Say, ‘I stayed up late for my dada tonight. I might be a little delirious,’” Steele quipped.
What Steele did not know at the time was that the light-hearted moment on April 7 would follow his final start of the 2025 season. A left elbow injury flared and required surgery, ending the pitcher’s campaign. Steele headed home to Arizona, where he has focused on his rehab, while balancing the daily parental duties with his wife, Libby.
This Father’s Day, as Beau approaches his third birthday -- he was born in 2022 and shares a birthday (July 11) with Steele -- the Cubs pitcher is appreciating the time he is getting to spend with his family. Of course, Steele would love to be on the mound helping Chicago in its push for a playoff berth, but he sees the positive within his situation.
"It’s kind of bringing me back to 2020,” Steele said, “because when I should be playing baseball, I’m able to be at the house. I’m watching the games on TV, but I’m hanging out with Beau. I’m playing in the yard with him. Things that all the dads in here aren’t able to do in the season when we’re off playing games, traveling 162 games in a year.
“I’m able to be home, and cherish those little moments that I know these guys aren’t able to get, because we’re just so busy with our schedules. It’s something that’s definitely been eye-opening. You kind of take for granted how hard your wife works, too.
“Keeping the house in order. Making sure I’m taken care of. Keeping Beau under control. When you’re around Beau 24/7, you realize how hard it can be taking care of a child 24/7.”
Steele said he and his family will try to plan their daily schedule around when the Cubs play each game, so the pitcher can keep close tabs on his team. The lefty said he and his wife will have their spots on the couch, while Beau is set up with his toys and snacks. Steele has also picked spots to bring Beau with him to the Cubs’ complex on rehab days so his son can run around the field.
Steele added that it has also been fun to see how Beau is growing and learning.
“It’s awesome,” Steele said. “It’s really cool watching him learn, use his words, figure things out. It’s just really cool to see when otherwise I wouldn’t get to witness these cool little moments that are very impactful. To be able to be there and witness him do things for the first time, those moments are very special.”