Kernels pitcher has a family perspective

The ball wasn't well struck, but it was well placed. It plopped fair by a couple of feet, and three runs had scored by the time the right fielder retrieved it in the corner.

Chris Armstrong retired the next man, but the damage was done. His head down, the Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher walked quickly to the dugout.

One of those shatter-the-water-cooler moments, for sure, but Armstrong kept his cool.

“Baseball is just a small part of life,” he said the next day. “I've been going through a tough time right now (pitching) ... there have been times when I've wanted to just start throwing stuff around coming in here after giving up three runs. But I just think to myself that life's too short to be worrying about baseball that way. I've got a family to worry about.”

Imagine being a 21-year-old reliever in the low minor leagues, trying to maneuver your way through the Los Angeles Angels farm system, with a wife and 3-month-old son you rarely see living a few states away. That's Chris Armstrong.

“Being a professional baseball player is awesome,” he said. “It's been my dream since I was a young kid. Having a family back home, yeah, it's definitely hard. But I know they are there supporting me every step of the way, and that just makes it that much better. Each time I take the mound, I've got my wedding band on my necklace. I'm doing this for Shane.”

Shane Armstrong was born May 8 in Owasso, Okla. Chris and his wife, Melita, were connected regularly via Webcam the last couple months of her pregnancy, but it's not the same as being there.

“That was really difficult because there was a lot of stuff I couldn't do,” Melita Armstrong said. “Being a new mom, in particular, it was hard because you don't know what to expect. There were times when I was just freaking out thinking ‘Oh, my gosh, I'm not going to be able to get his car seat in. I'm not going to be able to drive.' Just stuff like that.”

The couple were on the computer together one afternoon in early May when Melita complained about her back hurting. Chris was with the Kernels in South Bend, Ind., about to prepare for a game and knew this was it.

South Bend's front office generously helped book him a flight home. After being stranded for a while in Atlanta, he made it in time to see his son born.

“Best feeling in the world,” he said.

The worst feeling came a couple of days later when Chris had to leave his wife and newborn son and return to Cedar Rapids. Both of their families live nearby, which was comforting, but it was so, so difficult to leave.

“Coming back here, I just bawled my eyes out. I couldn't hold it back,” Chris said. “It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.”

The young family was finally reunited last month. Chris' housing family here, Mark and Michelle Hocrafer, agreed to let Melita and Shane stay with them until she goes back to school in a couple of weeks.

“Coming back here, (Shane) had to get used to Chris again. That was hard,” Melita said. “That's the bad part - as he gets older and Chris is away and stuff.”

But there is the dream they'll all be in the big leagues together some day. Melita has one more year of college in sports management and wants to find work in professional baseball.

Even if that doesn't happen, they have each other. And they have their son.

“Shane's the best thing that's ever happened to me,” Chris said.