Chris Woodward is having the time of his life as the new manager of the Texas Rangers.
"It's hard to get too optimistic because I'm a pretty optimistic guy, but it's far exceeded what I thought we were capable of so early in the process," said Chris.
"Chris is one of the most authentic people you'll meet. He's just a genuine, authentic, down-to-earth person. Becoming a manager is the most incredible thing to him for sure, but I think he just wants to give everything he has to a team. He wants to give everything he has to players," said his wife Erin.
Woodward is giving everything he has to his baseball job while loving life as a father of three kids and husband to a wife who works as an emergency room trauma nurse in Arizona.
A commitment to family for Woodward that includes an hour commute each way from his home to the Rangers practice facility in Surprise, Arizona.
"Yeah, I mean, it is number one. I talk about it all the time. My wife and kids mean everything to me. They've been through a lot in my career from my playing standpoint and then transitioning into coaching. It's really cool to impact an entire organization and to have them be a part of it is special," said Chris.
Part of a special journey for the Woodward family that took a difficult and impactful turn for the better in 2008.
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After having their daughter Sophie, Chris and Erin were hoping to have another baby.
"We had been trying for so many years to get pregnant unsuccessfully. I think I had 11 miscarriages in total. It seems like a lot, but it was over an eight year period, so it only amounts to only one or two a year. Adoption had always been on my heart and I'd always wanted to adopt. We cried a little bit, prayed a little bit, left it up to God and we're just going to roll with it," said Erin.
"I ended up signing with the Atlanta Braves. So, now I'm an Atlanta Brave. I'm excited about a job, but the adoption thing is still there, and we're just kind of like this is going to take a while," said Chris.
"And then four days later, we got a phone call that there was a birth mother in Atlanta. And would we be interested in pursuing that case," said Erin.
"When my wife tells the lady 'my husband just signed with the Atlanta Braves,' everybody in the room didn't have a dry eye. You just look upstairs and you're just like okay, this is obviously pretty special." said Erin.
That special delivery was Mason, who, 11 years ago, was born less than two miles away from the Woodward’s home at the time in Atlanta.
"He exposed us to things. Obviously, we've always been a baseball family. He wants to be a chef and plays piano and he is so creative. He brings so many amazing things and such beautiful colors and varieties into our family which we never would have had before," said Erin.
"We adopted Mason and less than a year later, she gets pregnant. So then we end up having a baby boy and he's nine now, so, it's a full house," said Chris.
A full house, while Chris Woodward is living his dream as the new manager of the Texas Rangers, all while, now possibly considering making the house a little more full.
"My nine-year-old says what he wants for his birthday or Christmas this year is a baby sister. It's the first time I've heard him ask about that," said Chris.
"That's a conversation that's been coming up a lot in our house, so we might be ready to do that again. We have one leaving for college, so we need another one coming in," said Erin.
"Obviously it's dear to our heart to provide that. We've been fortunate to do it with one. We just recommend, if you have trouble getting pregnant, adopt. There are so many kids who need homes," said Chris.
Mason's birth mother came to the United States from Guatemala, and the Woodward's say they cannot wait to one day take him to visit her native country. Erin and the kids will keep living outside of Phoenix while Chris works in Arlington until their oldest daughter, Sophie, graduates from high school next spring, when the family plans to move to North Texas full time.
