It was a Sunday in late September 2025, and the Chicago Cubs were in the thick of a brutal National League wildcard race. Every win felt like oxygen. Then, the lineup card dropped for their series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, and a name was missing: Matt Shaw.
The 23-year-old rookie third baseman wasn't on the bench. He wasn't in the trainer's room. He was in Arizona.
Shaw had skipped the game—a 1-0 loss that stung the North Siders' playoff hopes—to attend the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. If you follow the news, you know the context. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, had been assassinated just weeks earlier on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. The news cycle was a mess of political firestorms, but inside the Cubs clubhouse, the story was way more personal than the headlines suggested.
The Apartment Complex Connection
People assumed this was a political statement. Honestly? It started at a mailbox.
Shaw and Kirk weren't some "calculated political alliance." They were neighbors. During the previous offseason, both lived in the same apartment complex in Arizona. They struck up a friendship that had nothing to do with the 24-hour news cycle and everything to do with two guys who liked talking about baseball and Jesus.
Kirk was a massive Cubs fan. Like, the kind of fan who would text a rookie after every single game. "Great win for the Cubbies," the messages would read. Shaw later told reporters at Wrigley Field that Kirk was "one of the biggest Cubs fans I've ever met."
That’s the part the internet missed. While pundits were arguing about Kirk’s legacy, Shaw was grieving a guy who sent him encouragement after a 0-for-4 night.
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The September 10 Scratch
The first sign that something was up came on the day of the shooting. The Cubs were in Atlanta, and Shaw was suddenly scratched from the lineup. At the time, the team called it a "personal matter."
We now know Shaw was "tearing up pretty good" in the locker room. Finding out your friend was killed in a shooting is heavy for anyone, let alone a kid trying to find his footing in the Big Leagues. He eventually came in to pinch-hit that night, but the emotional toll was obvious.
When Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, personally reached out to Shaw and invited him to the memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Shaw felt he had to go.
Why the Backlash Missed the Mark
The "backlash" was predictable. You’ve got a team fighting for the playoffs and a star rookie leaving to honor a lightning-rod conservative figure. Some fans were livid. They saw the 1-0 loss to the Reds as a direct result of Shaw’s absence.
But look at the clubhouse response.
Manager Craig Counsell and President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer signed off on it. Shaw didn't just go AWOL; he sat down with four or five veteran teammates to get their take before he left. He wanted to make sure they knew he wasn't "just leaving to leave."
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The support he got was almost universal within the team. "When you humanize it and keep it there," Counsell told the media, "it becomes really simple." For the players, it wasn't about the Turning Point USA founder. It was about a teammate losing a friend.
Faith Over Fame
Shaw has been incredibly blunt about why he went. It was about faith.
"My connection with Charlie was through our faith," Shaw said. "That's something that drives me every day."
Interestingly, Shaw doesn't even have social media. He’s had it deleted for about four years. He wasn't reading the Twitter (or X) threads or the Reddit boards calling for his trade. He was operating in a different world.
He didn't care about the optics. He didn't care about being a "conservative icon" or a "political target." He just wanted to be at a funeral.
AmericaFest 2025 and the "Own It" Debate
The story didn't end with the funeral. In December 2025, Shaw was listed as a speaker for Turning Point USA's AmericaFest.
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This reignited the fire.
Sports commentators like Dan Bernstein argued that Shaw needs to "own" his political leanings. The argument is basically: If you're going to these events, don't hide behind 'it's just faith.' But Shaw hasn't pivoted. When he spoke at AmFest, the title of his session was "How Faith in Jesus Shaped Matt Shaw’s Life and Career." He seems to be sticking to his guns—that the connection is spiritual, not necessarily a policy-driven crusade.
What This Means for the Cubs in 2026
The reality is that Matt Shaw is a ballplayer. A good one. He put up 3.1 WAR in 126 games as a rookie. He’s the best third baseman the Cubs have had since Kris Bryant.
Whether fans like his off-field associations or not, his value on the diamond is the only thing that will eventually quiet the noise.
- The Clubhouse Dynamic: The team hasn't fractured. If anything, the way the vets handled Shaw's grief suggests a tight-knit group.
- The PR Challenge: The Cubs front office is in a weird spot, balancing a diverse fan base with a player who is becoming a face for a specific movement.
- The Performance Factor: If Shaw hits .280 with 25 homers, the "backlash" becomes a footnote. If he slumps, every TPUSA appearance will be used as a weapon against him.
Actionable Takeaways for Following the Story
If you're trying to make sense of the Matt Shaw and Charlie Kirk connection without the partisan screaming, keep these points in mind:
- Look for the "Faith" Angle: Whenever Shaw speaks, he frames everything through his Christian beliefs. If you want to understand his motivation, start there.
- Watch the Vets: Pay attention to how guys like Ian Happ or Nico Hoerner talk about Shaw. Their support is the best barometer for how this is actually affecting the team.
- Ignore the Social Media Noise: Shaw does. He’s proven that he’s willing to take the heat because he literally doesn’t see the "input" from the digital world.
- Separate the Friend from the Activist: Shaw maintains he knew Kirk as a neighbor and a fan first. Whether you believe that or not determines how you view his "loyalty."
The intersection of sports and politics is always messy, but the Shaw-Kirk story is unique because it's rooted in a personal tragedy rather than a planned campaign. As the 2026 season gets underway, the focus will return to the dirt and the grass, but the "personal reasons" of 2025 have fundamentally changed how Chicago views its young star.