The Chicago Cubs are in the middle of a nail-biting playoff race, but the biggest story this week isn’t baseball – it’s rookie third baseman Matt Shaw’s emotional implosion.
Exclusive sources tell us Shaw – 23, a hometown kid from the Chicago suburbs – had to pull out of the September 10th game after hearing the shocking news that his close friend, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, had been assassinated at a Utah Valley University event. One teammate told us:
“Matt heard the news in the locker room, went pale, and just collapsed onto the bench. Nobody had ever seen him like that. We had to pull him out and calm him down.”
Just days later, Shaw was spotted at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, attending Kirk’s public memorial alongside thousands of mourners, including Donald Trump and JD Vance. Cameras caught him sitting in the front row with his head in his hands — and the image immediately went viral.
💣 The drama keeps escalating:
- Some online haters are questioning whether Shaw and Kirk were really that close, pointing out there’s only one public photo of them together at Wrigley Field.
- But the Cubs confirmed Shaw was close enough to Kirk to get a personal invitation to the memorial.
- And inside sources leaked that manager Craig Counsell is worried Shaw is so shaken he might… sit out the rest of the season!
🚨 Cubs Nation is divided: Some fans say Shaw deserves compassion — “he just lost a close friend during a stressful season” — while others are furious he missed key games in the middle of a playoff push.
If the drama keeps spiraling, this could turn into a major distraction inside the Cubs clubhouse just weeks before the playoffs — and everyone’s waiting to see if Shaw bounces back or takes a longer break to get his head right.