SCRANTON, Pa. — It's all new for Cory Spangenberg: a new team in a new country and a new language, but learning Japanese is nothing compared to being a new father.
"It's surreal," Spangenberg said. "To know that she's yours. We're getting to spend a lot of time with her. So this whole virus thing, it's a terrible thing what's going on, but it's been a blessing in disguise for us."
Cory and his wife, Julie welcomed Madison Ann Spangenberg to the world last month, in Japan – a long way from home for the Clarks Summit-natives.
After six years in the majors with the Padres and Brewers, Spangenberg signed with the Seibu Lions of the NPB this offseason. As expected, having a child in a foreign country, during a global pandemic comes with its fair share of challenges.
"My wife, you can't give her enough credit, just to realize how strong and how great she is," Spangenberg said. "It was allowed the doctor and nurses in labor. So, I couldn't be there. I couldn't even be in the hospital at any point."
Facetime-ing in for the birth of your first child isn't ideal, but safety is everything right now. Japan recently extended the state of emergency. So Spangenberg's season is still on hold and whenever it starts, it'll feel different.
"When we started spring training, we had no fans," he said. "So, we kind of got the feel of what the season will probably be like. It stinks. It really does. There's no adrenaline. There's no crowd noise. You play to play in front of fans and definitely a downer."
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It's not the environment he's used to, but like being a parent, he's looking forward to the challenge.
"New experiences are good," Spangenberg said. "I'm excited to see what this new experience has for me and keep an open mind about it and just enjoy playing baseball."
To show baby Madison what daddy does for a living.
"Probably won't be this year, though, with the no fans the whole year," Spangenberg admitted. "So that's a little disappointment, but she'll eventually see me play and that'll be an amazing experience."