CHICAGO – Matt Shaw, the Cubs’ rookie third baseman, said a personal relationship with Charlie Kirk led him to skip Sunday’s game and instead attend a memorial service for the slain conservative activist.
Shaw rejoined his teammates Tuesday at Wrigley Field, explaining to reporters that he first met Kirk in the offseason while they were living in the same Arizona apartment complex. Shaw returned to the Phoenix area for Sunday’s event at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were among the political figures to address the crowd.
Shaw’s decision to leave the team in Cincinnati during a pennant race and travel to the event came after consulting with a group of Cubs players and receiving clearance from manager Craig Counsell and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. That made it an excused absence from the club’s perspective.
“I was very thankful for how the team responded,” Shaw said. “Allowing me to do that was really special. Jed and (Counsell) and all the veteran players that I talked to – really the whole team – having their support was really important to me. Charlie (was) one of the biggest Cubs fans I ever met. He’d text me after every game: ‘Great win for the Cubbies.’
“His wife Erika had texted me, asking me if I would come to the funeral. I felt as though it was something that was really important for me to do.”
#Cubs rookie Matt Shaw discusses his decision to leave the team Sunday to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral and his relationship with Kirk.
Shaw says Kirk texted him after almost every game and was a big Cubs supporter. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/leZtoF1odw— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) September 23, 2025
Shaw confirmed he also requested some time off immediately after Kirk’s death. Kirk was shot and killed during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
That night, the Cubs scratched Shaw from their starting lineup due to unspecified personal reasons. He entered that game as a pinch-hitter and finished a 3-2 road win over the Atlanta Braves at third base. Through the club’s media relations department, he declined to speak with reporters postgame.
“When that happened, a lot of emotions came over me,” Shaw said. “I didn’t foresee that happening. I don’t know how to describe everything that happened and how I was feeling. But I will say that I was tearing up pretty good, and I had a lot of guys come in, on this team, that were supporting me.
“That will be something I remember for my entire life – how everyone responded to what I was going through. Those are friends and moments that you have with people that create a bond for a long time.”
Kirk graduated from Wheeling High in suburban Chicago and founded Turning Point USA, a conservative organization that helped him gain access to the White House.
During Trump’s speech at the memorial service, he recalled a recent conversation with Kirk: “One of the last things he said to me is, ‘Please, sir, save Chicago.’ We’re going to do that. We’re going to save Chicago from horrible crime.”
“I am comfortable living here,” Shaw said. “That part of it, you know, there (were) a lot of other people that spoke about their faith. That was the most powerful part for me.”
Shaw works for a franchise owned by the Ricketts, a billionaire family deeply embedded in conservative politics. One of the family’s prominent members, Pete Ricketts, is the former Nebraska governor now serving as that state’s junior Republican senator.
Shaw also works in a city that Trump has circled for potentially sending in the National Guard. After missing a late-season game to attend a politically charged event, Shaw said he is “not concerned at all” about facing a possible backlash.
“My connection with Charlie was through our faith,” Shaw said. “That’s something that drives me every day. That’s the reason why I’m able to do what I do every day. That’s something I’m extremely thankful for. I know that without my faith – and without the many blessings I’ve been given in my life – I wouldn’t be here able to talk to you guys (in the media), able to help this team eventually go and win championships.
“Whatever backlash comes is OK. I feel strong about my faith, and that what was meant to be, happened.”
Shaw, 23, was selected in the first round of the 2023 draft out of the University of Maryland. After making this season’s Opening Day roster and debuting in the Tokyo Series, he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in the middle of April.
After refining his game with another month in the minors, Shaw regained his spot as the everyday third baseman, proving himself as an exceptional defender.
That made it especially curious when Shaw’s name was not listed in Sunday’s lineup, and when he did not come out for the national anthem at Great American Ball Park. The Cubs were on the verge of getting swept in a four-game series, and still trying to secure the National League’s top wild card and home-field advantage in their first playoff round.
Given Counsell’s reputation as a sound tactical manager, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona found it odd when his counterpart did not use a pinch-runner for Moisés Ballesteros in the ninth inning of a game the Cubs would lose 1-0: “I kept thinking, ‘Why are they not running for Ballesteros?’”
Shaw said he has not used social media in years, suggesting he’s largely unaware of the outside reactions.
“I don’t see any comments,” Shaw said. “Of course, Danielle, my wife, will get things sent to her, and that’s something that we understand. People have a difference of opinions.”
In documenting a visit to Wrigley Field this summer, Kirk posted a photo on his X account. For that Aug. 20 post, Kirk posed on the field with Shaw and Cubs first baseman Michael Busch. Shaw gave a thumbs-up in the picture while Kirk wrote the caption: “Cubs Win!”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
