Caleb Joseph on trying to make the team: "Baby's gotta eat"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Caleb Joseph walked through the Orioles clubhouse this morning around 8:30 a.m., a smile stretching across his face as teammates hugged and fist-bumped the newest father on the team.

Joseph's wife, Brooke, gave birth to the couple's first child Saturday evening. He didn't make the trip to Fort Myers yesterday, but now it's time to get back to work. The incentive to make the team out of spring training has grown.

"Baby's gotta eat," Joseph said. "That's just another reason to try to work really hard, because now you really get a sense of providing, I guess. Like, 'Wow, this is my responsibility.' And being able to experience what a year in the major leagues looks like, it would be nice to spoil him rotten with a couple extra toys, so we'll see."

Joseph is listed among the reserves today. He was scratched from yesterday's lineup.

"My wife let me sleep quite a bit last night," he said. "The first two nights I was trying to let her get some sleep, but last night she let me sleep through the night, so I feel good, I feel energized."

Brooke and Walker Everett will check out of Sarasota Memorial Hospital later today. He was in no rush to come into this world, leaving Joseph in a constant state of alert and unable to leave the city of Sarasota.

"We weren't sure exactly when the baby was going to come out," said Joseph, who was away from the team for two days. "We thought it was going to come out March 1, and then as it was delayed ...

"She has some family here in town who are going to be able to support her, and with her being in Sarasota, right after the game I'll be able to be back home, as well. We have quite a few things we still have to do to finish out, with just some baby procedural stuff or whatever. Today he's going to be pretty busy, so it just made sense for me to come back to work instead of stay at the hospital and just wait on him to get ready to go back home. That was kind of the plan.

"It was hectic. You never know. God's got a plan. Sometimes we think we do. In the end, it was hectic just thinking, 'This could be 10 days early, 10 days late.' You never know. Especially the most hectic part was when we were there, we weren't expecting to have the baby. We just kind of had a routine checkup and they said, 'You're going to have a baby within 24 hours.' That was kind of the most hectic part. We're not anticipating it, we're going to have it. Things like that happen a lot in life, but it was a great experience."

As a member of the Orioles organization, Joseph paid Brooke the ultimate compliment today.

"So proud of my wife," he said. "She did an amazing job. She's a real trooper. She did it the Oriole Way. She grinded it out for a long time. I was like, 'He's in good shape.' "

Walker already is dressed for the part.

"He's decked out in full Orioles gear, that's for sure. He's got black and orange all over him," Joseph said.

"We're waiting to see if we're going to get him shin guards or hockey shin pads. We're not sure yet. We'll see."

It's been quite a ride for Joseph, 28, who finally made the 40-man roster and his major league debut in May and now is experiencing parenthood for the first time.

"I tell you what, we're making up for lost years in Double-A, that's for sure," said Joseph, who spent four seasons with the Bowie Baysox.

"It's pretty hard to put into words what a year in the big leagues will do for you, your family, you hope your future. More importantly, just being able to experience these kind of life things without having to worry about how you're going to put food on the table. It's been a blessing and a real exciting year."