Preston Claiborne's dad wanted him to act like a Yankee and now he is one
Column by The Dallas Morning News | ksherrington@dallasnews.com
The first baseball game Michael Claiborne ever took his son to see was the Yankees and Rangers.
Preston Claiborne still remembers the lesson.
"He told me to watch what the Yankees did," he said. "He told me to go about my business like they did, with class and respect."
Growing up, Preston did as his father instructed. Drafted out of Carrollton Newman Smith in the 23rd round in 2006, he turned down the offer and went to Tulane. And there his lesson continued.
The Green Wave made him a relief pitcher. His freshman year, he was second on the team in appearances. He was working his way back from elbow surgery his sophomore year when one of his coaches told him after a game against UC-Irvine that he needed to call home.
Paula Claiborne told her son the unthinkable: His father had died of a stroke.
Overcome with grief, with nowhere else to go, Preston turned to his team. He remained with them the rest of the weekend.
On Sunday, less than 48 hours later, Preston's coach, Rick Jones, looked down the bench as usual. But he knew this time it might be different. Might be too much to ask.
"No, coach, this is what I want to do," Preston told him. "I want to be in there."
In his longest outing of the season, Preston pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, striking out three and allowing only a pair of singles.
Tulane lost the game. But not the moral.
"It doesn't always work out the way you draw it up," Jones told reporters afterward, "but I sure was proud of his effort.
"I'm sure his dad was, too."
Michael, a stockbroker, had not been a regular at Tulane games. He's seen his son pitch in college only once. But they'd always been close. On Saturdays, they'd eat breakfast at a favorite restaurant. Sundays they spent in the shade of an oak, talking baseball and other subjects great and small.
Looking back, the conversations are Preston's fondest memories. But life moves on. He graduated last month with a degree in media arts and is only a semester short of another in history.
And the first week of this month he was drafted in the 17th round ... by the Yankees.
He reported last week to Staten Island, N.Y. for short season. This will be his second Father's Day since his father's death. It will be difficult, as is every day, maybe for a long time to come.
But if called on to pitch, he'll be ready.
"You've gotta keep your emotions in check," he said. "I can't worry if a guy makes an error or I give up a bomb.
"I can only think about the next pitch."
Go about your business with class and respect. That was the lesson.
And here's another: Preston doesn't regret what his father might have missed. He figures he doesn't miss a game