I was sorry to learn the White Sox designated Declan Cronin for assignment on Thursday.
The right-handed reliever was “DFA’d” to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for the freshly-signed Tim Hill.
My late father was a White Sox fan and a proud graduate of Cronin’s alma mater Holy Cross. Cronin’s time on the Sox reminded me of what a connecting force baseball is. For that reason I will miss DC from HC.
My beautiful parents, married and inseparable for nearly 64 years, died within 16 days of one another in the spring of 2020.
However, I still receive“signs” that they are still present.
July 30, 2023 was one of those times.
These “signs” turned a dreary 5-0 White Sox loss to Cleveland into one of the most memorable of the 2,084 games I’ve worked at the Sox current address.
My Dad loved the Sox and he loved Holy Cross. I know when Cronin made his Major League debut that day, James F. Marran, Holy Cross Class of 1952, was there somewhere, proudly donning his HC cap.
My wife and I — both working in the Sox scoreboard control room — couldn’t look at each other while Cronin was pitching. We knew how happy my Dad was at that moment. And, yes, I did display a few Holy Cross graphics during Cronin’s first few batters.
Cronin, a longshot 36th round pick in 2019, flashed a nasty breaking pitch to righties that showed legit potential. Leaning on the pitch, Cronin was sailing along until he gave up a home run to Jose Ramirez. No shame in that because Ramirez is one of the great players in the game.
“You can’t win with students” was my Dad’s refrain when “The Cross” would succumb to superior competition. I could hear him saying this as Ramirez’s rocket punctured the seats in right field.
About two innings after Cronin pitched, “Shout” was played to the delight of the 28,096 on hand and that’s where my Mom comes in.
When that song was played at our wedding reception on Sept. 26, 1987, my Mom was on the dance floor furiously making the safe sign. She was hearing “safe” instead of “SHOUT!” which made sense because her son, the groom, had been babbling about baseball his entire life.
A few more on the dance floor joined in with “SAFE,” including my sister and dad as shown below.
I got a thrill 13 days after Cronin’s debut when I finally got to meet the Marquette basketball legend Jerel McNeal, whom I’ve interacted with on Twitter for many years. McNeal was part of the Sox “Marquette Day.”
McNeal threw a ceremonial first pitch to Cronin, which my Dad would have found “splendid,” a word he used often.
I found this combo so fitting because it was my Dad who steered me to Marquette.
I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Cronin or the last we’ve heard from “Shout.”
After all, we have to keep Mom and Dad happy, right?