Now a father, Eflin has 'completely different outlook on life'

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Sunday is Father’s Day, so Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

This is Zach Eflin's first Father’s Day. Of course, being a baseball player, he is spending his first one on the road away from his family. Earlier this week, we asked him about being a father for the first time and how his life has changed since his wife Lauren had their daughter Ashton.

“She just turned 8 months old and she’s just starting to say ‘dada.’ It’s been so great. I have a completely different outlook on life now. At the end of the day, nothing else matters than the health and safety of my daughter, my wife and my family. I’ve always felt like that, but once we had a little girl it meant even more. My sole priority is making sure everything is OK for her. It’s made me a lot more free and easy on the mound because there’s not as much anxiety that goes into baseball anymore. All of that is focused on making sure she’s OK. It’s just a treat now to come out and pitch.

“We had the baby at the perfect time at the beginning of the offseason. We were still up here. I just had knee surgery. I was kind of limping around in the hospital when she was delivered. But the lockout gave me a little more time at home and a little more time with her. I was a dad every single day and it was awesome. It’s definitely a little harder during the season, being away for 10 days, then home for seven, then away for 10. I’m missing little tiny milestones, but it really is the greatest gift.

“You dream of scenarios of going to the playoffs, going to the World Series and holding your daughter after winning. It’s really cool right now because most times that I pitch, she’s up in the suite and I’ll wave at her. I don’t think she can see me yet, but I see her and it’s awesome. It’s been great seeing J.T. [Realmuto’s] daughters grow up. They’re always up in the suite and every time we come in [from the bullpen] getting ready for the game, he looks up at them, they look down at him and they wave. It’s cool to see them and Ashton sitting right there next to them, just looking out.”