Baseball kept this father and son apart. It brought them back together, too.

Delino DeShields Jr. found himself at an impasse, one he had seen his father reach more than 20 years earlier.

For the past few seasons, the seven-year MLB veteran was clinging to the dream of making it back to the majors. He took detours to avoid reality, playing in the minor leagues and independent ball. He kept his phone nearby in case a team called. That call never came.

Entering this season, he had resolved to let his dream go. The stress and internal pressure had taken a toll. A heel injury, suffered while playing in the Mexican League, left him ready to hang up his cleats for good. That’s when his dad called.

“He called me and was like, ‘How is your heel doing?’ And he’s asking me all of these freaking questions,” DeShields Jr. joked.

Eventually, his dad got around to the most important one. The Washington Nationals had some injuries to outfielders in their minor-league system. Delino DeShields Sr., Class AA Harrisburg’s manager, wanted to know if his son wanted to play for him.

DeShields Jr. was hesitant. He hadn’t played in Class AA in years. Climbing through the system to play for the Nationals, a team with a lot of young outfield talent, seemed a long shot. But DeShields Sr. had a dream, too: to manage his son. So after some thought, DeShields Jr. agreed.

“This is God’s way of bringing us together now, even if it’s at Double-A,” DeShields Jr. said. “It’s an opportunity, one. But it’s also time that I get to spend with my dad — more time than I get to any other year, really.”

“For me, this is spending time with him,” DeShields Sr. said. “This game separated us. We spent a lot of time apart over the years. It’s a time for us to catch up and reunite on a lot of different things that are going on in his life and my life.”

The memories come flooding back to them now. DeShields Sr. remembers bringing his 1-year-old son to the Montreal Expos’ ballpark for family day. The younger DeShields remembers being a batboy in Chicago, wearing his dad’s oversize jersey and taking snacks from the clubhouse.

He learned to cherish those moments. His dad was on the road then. Sure, he would have loved to have him around more, but he understood why he wasn’t. He felt connected watching his dad on television. And he relished the days when his dad would fly home.

DeShields Sr. would have liked to play a few more years. But in 2002, after 13 seasons, 1,548 hits and 463 stolen bases, his body told him his career was over. He admitted it was “tough to fill the void.” He joked that every retired professional athlete needs to go through therapy.

“I don’t think he was really in the mindset of being a dad, like coaching and doing all this little stuff,” said DeShields Jr., who is now a father himself. “I feel like his spirit and soul wanted to be [around the game] … which I get. I’m about to be 33, and I’m still like, ‘My spirit and my soul is here. If I stop playing today, what would I be doing? What would that look like?’”

Around the time DeShields Sr. retired, his son was starting to chart his own path. DeShields Sr. coached his son for a bit but preferred to just be Dad. By the time DeShields Jr. was in high school, scouts were attending every game. His father couldn’t bear to watch up close. And he didn’t want his son to hear him. So he would park his truck beyond the outfield fence.

“I’d rather face Roger Clemens in Game 7 of the World Series than to watch my kids play,” DeShields Sr. said.

He eventually got back into coaching. DeShields Jr. was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft. Years later, in 2021, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and played 25 games with his dad as the first base coach. Then they went their separate ways again. This year, they met up right before the elder DeShields left for spring training and figured they wouldn’t see each other again until October. Plans changed.

“I just want to be where my feet are and take it day by day,” DeShields Jr. said. “I don’t know what the future holds. I could not be here tomorrow. But I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity.”

His dad was his first real coach. They used to hit in the cage in the backyard. But as the younger DeShields continued to climb, the game wasn’t as simple. There was more information, and there were more voices in his ear. He thinks that hurt more than it helped. Now that he’s with his dad again, though, he’s getting back to his roots. But this second chance is about more than baseball.

“I appreciate it more so than ever now because … we’ve lost a lot of time over the years, time that you’re never going to get back,” DeShields Sr. said. “To be around him every day now, I went up to his room the other night and just laid on the bed with him — stuff we haven’t done in a long time. That’s pretty cool.”