St. Louis Cardinals: Alex Reyes reminds us what is important

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes may be battling for his baseball life, but his daughter is reminding him what is truly important.

Sometimes, it can be easy to lose sight of what is truly important. For St. Louis Cardinals fans, the news that pitcher Alex Reyes was lost for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right lat muscle, was devastating. The young hurler oozed potential, bringing with him the hope that St. Louis would have a truly formidable trio with him, Jack Flaherty, and Luke Weaver ready to take their place on the Cardinals.

And yet, that devastation is a matter of perspective. It would be easy for Reyes, at 23 years old, to fret about his future. Instead, his young daughter is fighting her own battle, making his own issues entirely unimportant.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

That news regarding his family, and the health of his young daughter, puts everything in perspective. No matter what, Reyes will be fine. Even if he never pitches again, he will still have his health and family. Neither of those are a given for his daughter, whose own medical battles have far more at stake than a baseball game.

For Reyes, it is easy to see why he would find strength through her. Whatever he may need to go through for rehab, his daughter has much worse. Every day that she wakes up, and continues her battle, is another day that his family can remain complete. In the end, that togetherness, and that mutual strength, is far more important than any game or season ever could be. After all, no one’s life is resting on the outcome of these contests.

To a lot of us, sports are an escape. Baseball, and other sports, are the modern day bread and circus, a way to distract us from the insanity in the world these days. That escape is something that we all need from time to time, a three hour block when the weight of the world is off of our shoulders, and we can lose ourselves in the joy of a simple game.

That time on the mound may well have been the same for Reyes. There, he could, for the most part, control his own destiny. He threw the pitches, and executed the game plan. While he needed to rely upon his teammates, he still had control.

As much as he may want to control his daughter’s battle, and help push her forward, he cannot. Instead, he is left on the sidelines, supporting her as Cardinals fans have supported Reyes through his career. In being that support system for his daughter and his family, he reminds us that, in the grand scheme of things, these games are really not that important.

Next: Poncedeleon reaches the majors

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes may be fighting his own battle to return to dominance in 2019. However, that battle is nothing compared to what his daughter is going through. In those battles, Reyes has reminded us as to what is truly important.