Matt Shaw was absent from the team for Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati to attend what Craig Counsell explained at the time was the funeral of a friend. It was later clarified that Shaw had flown to Arizona to attend the memorial service for prominent conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at a rally at Utah Valley University on September 10. Shaw met with reporters in the clubhouse prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mets to explain his friendship with Kirk.
“Charlie, he was someone that I met at the apartments in Arizona where I lived, and then someone who was one of the biggest Cubs fans I ever met,” Shaw said.