Sportswriter McCauley also a star mom

When working in sports, there’s a lot that is unpredictable. A game can run into an unexpected delay, a player can get injured, or, in the case of Associated Press sportswriter Janie McCauley, you can go into labor nearly two hours after first pitch.

McCauley was originally scheduled to cover Willie Mays’ 80th Birthday at AT&T Park when the San Francisco Giants hosted the Colorado Rockies on May 6, 2011, but instead gave birth to her youngest daughter, Lily.

"I had some Chipotle for lunch and I couldn't finish it. I was feeling something going on. I wasn't certain, but by early afternoon I was pretty certain I shouldn't go to the ballpark,” McCauley recalled. “We were going to recognize [Mays]. I was going to do a pretty early pregame feature. Around 1:30 p.m. or so, I called myself off that game and she was born by 9:17 p.m.”

From covering the Giants to attending youth swim meets, McCauley has been doing it all in the 10-plus years since she became a working mom.

McCauley has reported around the world for events like the Olympics and World Cup, while also staying home with her family as the Super Bowl and World Series have been played in the Bay Area, her adopted hometown.

Her typical Mother’s Day doesn’t involve going to brunch or spending time with her husband Josh Dubow and daughters Emma, 12, and Lily, 10. Instead, her days usually involve heading out to cover a day game -- and sometimes, a bit of history.

"My second Mother's Day, I saw a perfect game,” McCauley said. “You could tell Dallas Braden had special stuff that day [in 2010]. "At the time you're not thinking that Dallas Braden is going to go out there and throw a perfect game.”

Long before McCauley juggled the duties of being a reporter and parent, she was learning and excelling in the daily grind as a beat reporter. During her first Major League season as a reporter, McCauley covered the 116-win Seattle Mariners and rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

The 2001 season set the stage for McCauley’s next assignment: The '02 Giants and their postseason run that ended in a Game 7 World Series loss to the Angels.

"I learned about asking the right questions and taking turns with the Japanese media, learning that we all have something different that we need for our stories,” McCauley said. "Some of those things helped me once I did cover Barry Bonds and in a home-run chase, because you are asking more questions that are just focused on one thing at the time.”

Covering Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron’s home run record was personal for McCauley.

She put off having children until after Bonds surpassed Aaron’s 755 home runs. The demands of the beat and the pressure to capture that moment in history required everything McCauley could give of herself.

When it finally ended in August 2007, a new chapter in McCauley’s life began. Less than a year later, she was covering the Olympics in Beijing while three months pregnant with Emma.

"I was probably more of a workaholic before I had kids and worked 60-hour weeks regularly,” McCauley said. “Now, I'm much more balanced and it feels healthier.”

McCauley and her husband, who is also an AP Sports writer, have found the balance between parent-teacher conferences and pregame scrums with team managers. They coordinate their schedules so someone is always home with their girls, or call upon friends to pinch-hit for them when they’re still at the stadium.

"I work a lot of nights and weekends, so sometimes it's relying on somebody to take a daughter to a swim meet, and I then do my part to help them during the week,” McCauley said. “I don't have family here in the Bay Area, so it's been really leaning on a village of friends and colleagues because it is unpredictable.”

She’s been hit with unpredictability several times. When McCauley was in London for her second Summer Olympics assignment, Lily was back home taking her first steps. It’s a reality that many working parents can relate to.

“I'm coming to terms with some of these things,” McCauley said about missing moments with her daughters. But her career has also opened the door for new memories.

Because of their mom’s work, Emma and Lily have interacted with some of the best athletes in the world.

At only a month old, Lily joined her mother to a game at the Oakland Coliseum and was cradled by Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson on the field.

These sorts of unique experiences have inspired Emma to want to follow in her mom’s footsteps as a sports reporter. Emma and her friends were treated to VIP treatment during a Golden State Warriors home game. Through McCauley’s connection to Warriors executive director of public relations, Raymond Ridder, the group enjoyed access to the players tunnel and an autograph session.

McCauley has also inspired other journalism professionals with how well she has balanced motherhood and work.

"You don't have to be perfect at both, because it's hard to be perfect at anything,” McCauley said. “But if you give your best to your job when you're at your job, and you give your best as a parent, it's good enough because they're not always going to be easy days.”