Family First

Painting a picture of one's life takes on many shapes and forms as life itself evolves. When the artwork is first started, it is a reflection of the artist in his own personal state. It's good, but there's always room for improvement, both in terms of the artist and the artwork.

For Baysox infielder Corban Joseph, a metaphoric artistic shift took place that has helped create the masterpiece in progress in 2018. As much as he's been fine-tuning his baseball technique during his professional career, it's been the work of the ladies in his new family that have helped mold him into the man he has become. 
When Corban was about 12 years old, he went to church camp in his home state of Tennessee. While there, he met a girl named Emery. He had never seen her at his church before, but she had many friends at the same church.
His heart started to flutter and young Corban soon had a life-changing epiphany.
"She caught my eye and I knew in the back of my mind that we'd be together," said Joseph. "It was one of those things that I knew, but I didn't want to pursue it quite yet. I knew that I had to grow up a little bit."
As the boy grew into a young man, he started pursuing baseball as a possible career choice, eventually being drafted by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 2008 Draft out of Franklin High School.
Around that same time, he started pursuing a relationship with Emery.
"We started getting serious about a relationship once I began playing professional baseball," said Joseph. "At that time, I looked over and there was something about her that made me want to get to know her, what she was about and what she believed in. I wanted to be a part of her life."
Corban and Emery had dated for a while when she visited him while he was in Tampa, Fla., with the Yankees.
"I knew that she was the one for me," said Joseph. "When I was at Spring Training, I took her out to St. Pete Beach and we had a long walk on the beach in the morning and watched the sunrise. She didn't know that I had gotten her parents and my parents to come down, so everybody could be a part of it.
"She had no idea. We went to a certain spot where I knew they'd be and popped the question there."
Life was full of joy for the new Joseph family, but it didn't go without its share of challenges.
"It's tough because of the distance away from each other," said Joseph. "If you're in a financial situation where she can travel throughout the whole thing, it's not too bad, but she would be at home all day in areas that she's not familiar with. The unknown is probably the biggest thing that we struggle with and having to live out of a suitcase.
"The thing that we're learning together as an early married couple is the one call that could make us pack up in an hour and be on the road to a totally different area. That puts a lot of stress (on us) and I think you really need a strong woman to go through this. You hear about baseball players having a really tough life to live in. Adding a wife and trying to have a family in this lifestyle is really tough."
As the Josephs continued enjoying life on the baseball road together, thoughts about adding to the household began gaining more and more steam.  
"We knew early on that we wanted to have kids," said Joseph. "I stressed to her that we still have to live life. We had enjoyed a couple years of marriage and we were ready at the time to have our first kid. It was fun (and) it opened a door for me to baseball that I never knew existed. You have a bad game and you have something so much greater at home. For me, it was such a blessing because once I walked out of the doors of the clubhouse, everything stayed in the doors of the clubhouse. It's tough to do when you don't have a family."
Addie Tyne was the first Joseph girl to enter the world. She turned four in May and Dad could not have been happier up to that point of his life.
"I was excited and scared and was kind of in shock," said Joseph. "I think I played it off a little bit, but it really sunk in deep down that I was going to be a dad. You start convincing yourself that it's going to be okay and you're going to be fine, but once the baby comes out and you hear that first cry, there's a calmness about it. You understand that something spiritual happens. This is what it's about. Being a dad is by far the greatest thing I've ever done. My kids are my biggest joy."
About three years later, Delta Belle completed the current family unit.
"I love their personalities," said Joseph. (Addie) is hilarious. She is one of the funniest little girls. She wants to do what daddy does. She wants to play outside, play in the mud, play with bubbles, do chalk art on the sidewalk. She wants to go out in the garden with my in-laws. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty, but she also wants to have a tea party. She's so sweet and she listens really well. She's such a smart learner.
"My youngest is one. She just started walking and she's been getting into everything possible. She's a small baby, but she's got a lot of fire in her. She's not afraid of something and if she wants something, she'll go get it. She's a sweet baby, too. The thing I love about both of my kids is that they smile a lot. They seem to be having a lot of fun. They love learning and love hanging out with mom and dad."
Having a career in professional baseball has proven to be full of possible stressors, but there's always something greater waiting for Joseph.
"There's a bigger meaning when you go home that you have to be daddy," said Joseph. "I try not to bring anything negative home to my kids. They deserve a dad who's loving and caring and who's going to be there for them no matter what. That to me is a blessing. The lifestyle is not ideal to have kids, but I felt that we were ready and we're always up for challenges. We never looked back. It's been a lot of fun."
Corban and Emery indeed haven't looked back and have more than lived up to the challenge so far. To Corban, a chunk of the credit goes towards the woman that came up with the unique names for their kids.
"Her unselfishness (and) the stuff that she puts up with on a day-to-day basis (makes her a great mom)," said Joseph. "She has friends who have stay-at-home dads that are in a routine and they don't have to deal with the things that we have to deal with as far as traveling and being away from each other. She's working back home, so she's making ultimate sacrifices by putting in long hours with her nursing job."
"The selflessness that she brings to the table is 'family first' and that's a big part. What we both decided was to put our family first in any situation. It makes it easier when you're thinking about what's best for the family as opposed to (yourself). I think she's the biggest example of that."
Aside from Emery, the use of technology has also played a significant role for the Josephs.
"(The kids) do know that I'm not at home, so when I FaceTime them, they get really excited," said Joseph. "They'll go through a phase where they don't see me for a while, so they get upset. We try to keep that time frame short. I think if they knew, it'd be harder on me because they'd know that I'd be leaving. (FaceTime) probably helps me more than it helps them because not seeing them every day or hearing them screaming and singing is tough.
"You're missing out on so much trying to pursue a career that only a small percent of athletes are able to do. You have to just keep on with the goal and know that you miss them, but put the sad feelings aside and understand that you take what you get. FaceTime is a huge factor and it helps out a lot."
Corban and Emery are continuing to add new features to their grand painting of life, and their girls will one day add their unique touches as well.
"I want them to follow their dreams (and) not settle for average," said Joseph. "Go for something bigger and better, and push yourself because I think you really find out what kind of person you are when you strive for the highest person that you can be."