Family First for Sal Fasano

Sure, we here at FanHouse love to laugh at the foibles of overpaid athletes as much as the next guy. But we also have a serious side -- one that was moved by a recent story concerning one of our favorite ballplayers, the Blue Jays' Sal "The Stache" Fasano.

Sal's wife, Kerri, is carrying their third son who was recently diagnosed with a rare heart ailment that restricts circulation. Doctors plan to induce Kerri later this month and then perform open heart surgery on the newborn, as Sal explained to the National Post.

"They have to retool the highway system of the heart to recycle through the heart and then back out to the lungs. That's the part that's scary, because at four days old, our baby's going to have open-heart surgery. And that's the part that's a little bit sad. How does a baby have to have open-heart surgery? But it happened, what are you going to do?"

"It isn't just a little thing, it's major," he said. "I don't know how else to explain it. It touches you in your heart. It makes you sad. It makes you just happy and thankful that the kids you do have are healthy."

Yeah, it's a lot for any expectant dad to carry, let alone a guy who has to be on the road with his team and continue to perform whenever called upon. Not to mention the fact that for Fasano, a journeyman who's respected throughout baseball as a stand-up guy but never made the big bucks, the ability to keep a career rolling and bringing in a paycheck is essential. But, obviously, family comes first.

"If I have to be away for an extended period of time while my son is going through these things, I don't know if want to do that," Fasano said. "I don't think making money or collecting service time is that important in relation to the life of a child. You can't put any type of number on what the time is worth or how much money you can make in this game."

Our best vibes and good wishes to Sal and his family.