On Mother's Day, ESPN thought it was a good time to ask Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas about his own mom, who is deceased.
ESPN celebrated Mother's Day in its usual fashion. On Sunday Night Baseball, the trio of Karl Ravech, David Cone and Eduardo Perez spoke with players on the field about their approach to the game, and also what their mother means to them. It was all too touching, until they talked to Triston Casas.
Casas lost his mother at the age of nine. The producers knew this, and rather than avoid the topic altogether, they decided to ask Casas about what it was like to grow up without a mother.
Casas handled the awkward question well, stating that he has so many maternal figures in his life which helped him reach his ultimate goal of playing professional baseball. That interview could have gone so many ways, and rather than let the Sunday Night Baseball crew get to him in the middle of an at-bat, Casas gave a professional answer in the heat of the moment.
Red Sox: Sunday Night Baseball crew asks too much of Triston Casas
For those of us who have lost a parent, Mother's Day and/or Father's Day can at times be a somber moment. You're surrounded by happy families, and while you may want to pay homage to that and the memories you have with said person, it's tough not to wonder about what could have been.
Casas had a game to play, and he answered the question well while deflecting the action back to the at-bat. He even tried to swap jerseys with Nolan Arenado later in the contest, which led to a funny exchange.
Give Casas some credit here. ESPN had no business bringing up such a sore topic, on yesterday of all days. He handled it well.