The rush continued when Royals pitcher Alec Marsh proposed to his longtime girlfriend Makenna Harper in mid-November 2023. Not to get married, but to decide on a date.
Harper met Marsh at Arizona State University, where she played softball and Marsh was on the baseball team. She knew what everyone in baseball knows. That means there are only two months for baseball weddings: November and December. Securing a date, not just finding potential venues but also getting around other engaged baseball couples, is something of a sport in itself.
By the time they started looking, November 2024 was already filled. When a wedding venue in San Diego County became available on Dec. 7, Harper jumped at the opportunity. Marsh’s teammate Bobby Witt Jr. then popped the question to his girlfriend Maggie Black, and the two initially booked their pending wedding for the same day.
“You’re fighting for your (wedding) day,” Harper said. “It’s like getting engaged and having to immediately announce to the baseball world the date you’re getting married.”
According to wedding website The Knot, which surveyed about 10,000 couples last year, only 11% of weddings took place between December and February. Autumn is the most popular, with 42% of weddings taking place between September and November. Baseball weddings happen on a different cycle, as baseball players typically get engaged one offseason and rush to plan their weddings for the next offseason.
“Vacations kind of take a backseat. Our offseason revolves around ‘which wedding are we going to go to and when is Alec going to train?’ Harper said.
Black and Harper, who became friends while in Kansas City, quickly recognized the challenge. They wanted to attend each other’s weddings, but did not want to force their teammates to choose between them. Luckily, Black was able to secure a venue for the following weekend, December 14th. Harper and Marsh postponed their planned honeymoon until the next day so Witts could attend. (This is the third wedding in four weeks for many Royals players who attended Michael Massie and Jane Desjardard’s Mexican wedding on Nov. 23.)
Several players are getting married in January, but everyone The Athletic spoke to said the change in the calendar could make things even busier. Pitchers are accelerating their pitching progress, and position players are often focused on training. It’s not unusual for players to trickle into their respective spring training facilities later in the month.
Weather and travel are also issues, and most baseball couples typically propose in November or early December, after proposing before spring training the previous year.
“Last year, we were the last ones to get engaged,” said Kara McKinstry, whose husband Zach popped the question in early February. He is a member of the Detroit Tigers team that was engaged seven times last offseason. “I looked at Instagram and every day I was like, ‘Okay, who’s next?'”
When Justin Verlander was planning his wedding to model Kate Upton after the 2016 season, they fell in love in a medieval church in Tuscany, Italy. Verlander was part of the rebuilding Tigers at the time. The playoffs were a pipe dream. Their date, November 4, 2017, seemed safe.
“I decided the only thing that could ruin my plans was Game 7 of the World Series,” Verlander, who was traded to the Houston Astros midway through the season, said at the time. “Sure enough, we ended up playing in Game 7 of the World Series.”
The Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers. Verlander skipped the subsequent victory parade to jump on a plane. He and Upton were beaten by guests at their week-long wedding festivities, some of whom teased on FaceTime, “This venue is beautiful, that’s what you came here to see!” There were people too.
Justin Verlander and Kate Upton took some time to take a few selfies after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 to win the 2017 World Series, and they arrived for their wedding a few days later. I left for Tuscany. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Not everyone is as willing to roll the dice as Verlander.
Pitcher Sean Manaea, who got engaged to Talat Mirmalek on New Year’s Eve, revealed that he is off-limits for the first weekend in November. That was a good thing, because Manaea’s New York Mets clinched a playoff berth in Game 161, surprising many, and defeated the Brewers in the Wild Card and the Phillies in the Division Series. The Mets lost to the eventual champion Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. But if the Dodgers and Yankees had gone to Game 7 in this year’s World Series, it would have been Saturday, Nov. 2.
“The first weekend (of November) was a day off. Sean said that would be the biggest jinx,” Marmalek said, adding that the wedding in Indianapolis was scheduled for Nov. 16 instead. I made a reservation. The stress for Milmarek after the Mets entered October wasn’t the wedding details themselves. The couple hired a wedding planner for their 200-person wedding, but many of the Met’s wives have shared the same calendar in a venue they didn’t have time to meet in person. was eager to offer advice. postseason.
The pre-wedding anxiety stemmed from the couple’s decision to go in early October. The idea was that if the Mets won the World Series, they would invite not just the entire team, but the entire organization.
“It was really stressful trying to figure out how to seat everyone. Like, why don’t you come to our wedding and just stand up?” Milmarek joked. “It was a great run, but I’m glad I didn’t have to worry.”
When Jodi Fick Rizzo started planning her 2019 wedding to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, the team was headed for a 19-31 start. The World Series was not a top priority. For a long time, Rizzo, a baseball fan, even refused to attend a wedding in November for the first two weeks of the month. He thought it was bad juju.
As the Nationals stunned the baseball world, Jody carried a binder with him throughout October, poring over attendance lists and menu options on team planes. She was able to attend the bachelorette party because the Nationals defeated the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, giving her a rare few days off for a trip to Las Vegas.
The Lizzos ultimately married on November 16, 2019 in Jamaica. That day left enough time for the Nationals to defeat the Astros in Game 7 in Houston, march in a ticker parade, and attend a White House celebration. The two then left for a wedding, during which “We are the Champions” was performed. event playlist
“We have a very short window of time before we can get married,” Jody said. “Especially as a GM, Mike also attends GM meetings and winter meetings. I’m glad we were able to do that in our first offseason after getting engaged. It was busy, but it was the best of the best.”
And perhaps the hangover of all hangovers. Mike told reporters in early December of that year. “I was drunk for a month.”
Mike and Jodi Rizzo were able to get married in Jamaica in November. (Michael Saab photo)
Being a guest during baseball wedding season can be just as hectic, with weekends in November and December often double or triple booked, forcing difficult choices. , and may require extensive travel.
Sean Murphy attended Manaea’s welcome party, the two played together in Oakland, and flew to Atlanta the next day to witness the marriage of current Braves teammate Michael Harris. That way he would be able to be there for both players who got married on the same day.
Milmarek said their wedding was attended by Athletics, Padres and Mets players, as well as Manaea’s college baseball friends, and Francisco Lindor’s eldest daughter Karina served as one of the flower girls. That’s what it means.
At Marsh and Harper’s wedding, all six of Marsh’s groomsmen were baseball players: Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson, Miami Marlins pitcher and former Royals Anthony Veneziano, Twins pitcher Griffin Jacks, Four players, including Royals pitcher Jonathan Boran, are currently in the major leagues. .
Torkelson was among a number of Tigers players who got engaged last offseason, and he proposed to his girlfriend, Makenna Mattei, in January. The pair weren’t able to complete a tight rebuild, but are instead making plans for 2026.
Even with the best planning and coordination, conflict may be inevitable. Brewers teammates Tobias Myers and Brian Hudson both married on December 14th. Myers was still in the minor leagues when he proposed to his fiancée, Lea Angelillo, last November. Hudson and his fiancée Kailyn Haug, who got engaged on Dec. 28, 2023, chose No. 14 because it is Haug’s favorite number and fits into baseball’s tight scheduling requirements. Neither knew of the other’s plans until the season began. There were no hard feelings.
Angelillo and Myers’ wedding in Boca Raton was attended by teammates already in the Florida area, Devin Williams (who was traded to the Yankees on Friday), Joe Ross and bullpen catcher Christian Correa. It was done. Hudson and Haug’s wedding was a family-focused event in Missouri.
“Every time I refresh my feed, someone gets engaged or married,” Angelillo said with a laugh. “I think we’ll all be celebrating the same anniversary.”
Elopement is becoming more of an option, but veteran baseball wives often confess that it would have been easier.
The McKinstry family followed the same path, as Kara and Zach went to a courthouse in Detroit during the All-Star break and got married with only their parents present. They decided to hold a celebration party for about 60 people in Arizona on December 7th.
Although the event was planned to be low-key, it was still quite stressful, Carla said. We got engaged in February, and by the time we started considering dates, there were only two people left for the December venue. One of those days was very close to Christmas. The McKinstry family chose the other, not surprisingly, on the same day as another Tiger, Dillon Dingler’s wedding.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic. Photos: Michael Saab Photography, Chelsey Barhorst Photography, courtesy of Karra McKinstry)
