John Rave’s homer thrilled his family. His thoughts were with one who wasn’t there
Although rookie outfielder John Rave hit a home run Monday night in his first trip to Wrigley Field with the Royals, it wasn’t the first time he’d done so at the ballpark.
Rave had homered there a decade earlier, shortly after being selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 2016 MLB Draft. His father, Mike, had won a trip to Wrigley with John and his brother, Matt.
“Me and my brother actually hit BP on the field,” Rave recalled Tuesday. “And this was right after I was drafted in high school. I said I was going to college (instead of signing), but it was a cool experience.
“It was more like a fan experience. But me and my brother are pretty competitive, and both baseball players, so we took it pretty seriously. And it was a lot of fun and we had awesome seats during the game. So that was cool to look back on.”
Rave smiled at the memory as he stood in front of his stall in the Royals’ clubhouse inside the visitors’ facilities at Wrigley.
That day from nearly a decade ago likely will mean more than any home run Rave hits from here on out. That includes the one Monday in the Royals’ 12-4 win over the Cubs.
That’s because the remembrance includes his father, who died in 2020 at age 51.
Mike Rave didn’t see his son’s baseball success at Illinois State that led to the Royals drafting him in the fifth round in 2019. Nor was he there when Rave made his big-league debut on May 26.
Not there physically, at least. Rave has his father in mind whenever he plays.
“I’ll pray during the anthem and just kind of have a conversation with my dad and stuff like that, just in my head,” Rave said. “It’s usually similar every day, but I keep thoughts of him with me. It’s a good way to keep his memory alive.”
Rave thought about his father while circling the bases following his home run in Chicago Monday night, and he knew that he had his own cheering section at the game.
His brother and sister have been at Wrigley this week with their families. His mom will be there Wednesday and cousins, nieces and nephews were around, as well. Rave estimated he had 50 friends and family members at Monday’s game.
The home run just made the three-game series all the sweeter. It felt like a movie moment.
“I tried to just keep it a normal day,” Rave said. “But once you get going, you start thinking about things, so a little bit emotional.
“Rounding the bases, I blacked out a little bit, but (I was) also kind of thinking about some cool memories of being here with my brother and my dad for games.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
