With baby daughter out of hospital, Brewers' Travis Shaw reflects on life-changing year

Until reminded of the date, Travis Shaw didn’t realize Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of his trade from the Boston Red Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers.

“It kind of slipped my mind,” said Shaw, who was acquired during baseball's 2016 winter meetings. “When you think about it, a lot has happened in the 365 days since then. Everything in my life is different now.”

It indeed was a life-changing year for the slugging third baseman, on and off the field. He became the steal of the major-league trade market as a dynamic offensive force for the Brewers, resulting in the well-deserved honor as the team’s most valuable player.

But Shaw’s baseball career was put in stark perspective in June, when daughter Ryann was born with a severe heart abnormality that plunged her into a life-or-death struggle. Shaw and wife Lindy were faced with something no new parents should have to confront – the immediate mortality of their baby.

“I used to think going 0 for 10 was tough,” he said. “She was fighting for her life and didn’t even know any better.”

One month after being traded to the Brewers, Shaw accompanied his pregnant wife for what was expected to be a routine checkup and ultrasound near their home in Fort Myers, Fla. Instead, they were given the devastating news that their unborn daughter had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS.

The Shaws learned that only one out of every 4,300 or so babies have HLHS, a defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and can’t pump blood normally through the body. They were told Ryann would need three surgeries early in life with no guarantee she would survive any of them.

“We started researching and the doctors started researching, and we found out Milwaukee was top five for this condition,” said Shaw, referring to the pediatric cardiac specialists on hand at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. “That made us feel better about it.

“It’s tough. It’s your first child. You don’t expect anything to go wrong. Nothing had ever gone wrong in my family. I have two siblings, Lindy has one. They said it was not hereditary. It’s just something that happens.”

The Shaws were still trying to process that scary information when it came time for Travis to report to the Brewers’ spring training camp in Phoenix. They had purchased a new home in Fort Myers shortly before the trade because that’s where the Red Sox train but they buttoned it up and headed for Arizona, trying to stay brave despite the knowledge that Ryann might not survive birth in June.

Already a private, quiet person who prefers fading into the background in group settings, Shaw didn’t initially reveal his dire family news to teammates. In fact, one never would have known anything was wrong from the way he conducted himself during spring camp.

“I’m kind of a private person,” said Shaw, who fell out of favor in Boston after a late-season swoon in 2016. “I don’t like to reveal a lot. Lindy obviously was very upset. We tried to be optimistic. It doesn’t help to be negative. You have to try to make the best of it.

“I didn’t really say much about it to my teammates, especially the severity of it, unless they looked it up on their own. That’s just the way I deal with things. I keep it inside.”

The season began and Shaw got off to a strong start, settling into the cleanup spot in the batting order and playing solid defense at the hot corner. Likewise, the rebuilding Brewers exceeded expectations, thrusting themselves into contention in the National League Central ahead of schedule.

It wasn’t until Ryann’s birth on June 5 that her heart condition became known outside of the team’s clubhouse, with Shaw taking paternity leave as allowed by Major League Baseball.

BREWERS CHAT: Tom Haudricourt at 11 a.m. Thursday

SPRING TRAINING: Brewers report Feb. 14; games begin Feb. 23

Viktor Hraska, medical director of cardiothoracic surgery at Children’s Hospital, performed a planned surgery on Ryann on June 9 as Shaw was placed on family medical emergency leave, missing the Brewers’ three-game series in Arizona. There were complications with a shunt inserted to create a new aorta, forcing a second dicey procedure the next day.

As Ryann’s life hung in the balance, the Shaws and their families kept vigil in the neonatal intensive care unit. Travis rejoined the Brewers for a doubleheader in St. Louis on June 13, and it was only then that media members were made fully aware of the serious situation, and his story went public.

From that point, the Shaws experienced a new normal for their daily lives. Lindy, in essence, spent every waking hour at the hospital. Travis did likewise when the Brewers were at home, except for the time preparing for and playing games.  

“I tried to not think about it all the time,” Shaw said. “Once Ryann came, that became more difficult, especially at home. On the road, I could block it out. At home, it was hard.”

Showing mental toughness and concentration that astounded teammates and club staff, Shaw compartmentalized his daughter’s fight for life during games and continued to be the Brewers’ most productive player, displaying unworldly focus. His best months came immediately after Ryann’s birth, as he compiled a .997 OPS in June and 1.022 OPS in July, with a combined 15 home runs and 38 runs batted in.

After every home game, Shaw dressed quickly and headed for the hospital to monitor Ryann and sit with Lindy. The next morning, he would gobble down some breakfast and return to the NICU, staying there until it was time to report to Miller Park to prepare for the game that night. When the Brewers were on the road, Shaw tried to catch up on sleep, rarely abandoning the comfort of his hotel room.

The Shaws had the constant support of their immediate families during the difficult period. Travis’ father, former big-league pitcher Jeff Shaw, and wife Julie made constant trips from their home in Washington Court House, Ohio. Lindy’s mother, Susie, a school teacher in Evansville, Ind., spent the summer at the Shaws' apartment in Wauwatosa. Her father, Dan, visited as often as his job allowed.

On Aug. 9, Ryann had another planned surgery, and Shaw missed the game that night against Minnesota at Miller Park to be at the hospital for another life-or-death episode. The next night, he was back in the lineup, clearing his mind enough to collect a pair of hits.

It wasn’t until late August and early September that Shaw showed signs of wearing down a bit on the field, which might have happened in any event. Those are the dog days for any player over a long season, though the Brewers’ unexpected battle for the playoffs kept everyone focused and energized.

“That’s when I started feeling it a little bit,” Shaw admitted. “The road was a nice escape. It was something I couldn’t do anything about during games, so I tried to ride the wave I was on. I was kind of on auto pilot.

“I thought I was mentally tough before all of this. It has been one of my strong suits, keeping everything on an even plane. But it was tested, for sure. I’m not sure where that comes from. I’m easily the most reserved in my family. That’s always been my personality. It was really put to the test.”

The season ended in disappointment for the otherwise overachieving Brewers, who were eliminated from the NL wild-card race on the penultimate day of the season. Shaw had reached his stated goal of driving in 100 runs, finishing with a .273 batting average, 31 home runs, which tied for the team high, and 101 RBI, leading the club.

Shortly after the season concluded, the day finally arrived that everyone in the Shaw family had awaited with much anticipation. Ryann was discharged from Children's Hospital and allowed to go home, ending a four-month stay that kept everyone on edge.

“In a way, it was kind of scary,” Shaw said. “She had been hooked up to monitors her whole life. They disconnected them and said, ‘You can take her home.’ That was a big day.”

The Shaws' home in Fort Myers remains empty. Rather than return there after the season, Travis and Lindy decided to spend the off-season in Milwaukee, renting a home in Whitefish Bay. They wanted to keep Ryann close to her doctors, including pediatric cardiologist Michele Frommelt, who has overseen her care.

Understandably, the Shaws can’t say enough about the folks at Children’s Hospital. Ryann is not out of the woods yet, and will need yet another surgery by Hraska around age 2 or 3, but the fact she was able to accompany Travis and Lindy to Ohio for a family Thanksgiving was something for which to truly give thanks.

“It was the first time a lot of the family members had seen Ryann,” Shaw said. “It was nice to let everybody see her.

“It was a blessing in disguise coming to Milwaukee. The care we got (at Children’s Hospital) has been amazing. I can’t imagine getting better care than we got here. We thought it would be best to stay here in the off-season with the doctors we know."

Ryann still receives nourishment and medication through a feeding tube. At one time, there had been talk that she might need a heart transplant but Shaw said there has been no recent mention of that possibility.

“Right now, life is as normal as it can be,” Shaw said. “We take Ryann out sometimes and you’d never know what she has been through. She’s still got quite a few things they are keeping an eye on. But, right now, she’s in a good place.”

Travis and Lindy plan to take Ryann back to Ohio for Christmas. As the days get colder and a Midwest winter becomes more of a reality, spending time in the warm climate of Fort Myers is awfully tempting. But the Shaws have their precious baby daughter to warm their souls, and everyone looks forward to better days in 2018 and beyond.

“It’s a little different but I go to Miller Park three or four days a week to work out,” Shaw said. “Otherwise, I mostly stay home. That’s the way we like it. Just looking at Ryann, it’s amazing to think of everything she’s been through, the surgeries and everything.

"A lot has happened in the year since I got that phone call in Florida from (Red Sox president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski. On the field, it couldn't have gone much better. Off the field, it was pretty tough. 

"Hopefully, next year, things will be more calm, and I can build off last season. It's just really good to be out of the hospital."