Wade Meckler’s baseball life and Grace Fetherstonhaugh’s running career keep pulling them in different directions, even when they’re both in Arizona.
In a normal February, the Angels outfielder is in Tempe for spring training while Fetherstonhaugh heads to Flagstaff for altitude work with fellow Canadian Olympic hopefuls. They’re only about 150 miles apart, but that doesn’t make it easy for two athletes with full schedules to steal time together.
“Last year, he came up to visit me before he went down, and I was able to sneak down a couple times to see him,” Fetherstonhaugh said in an interview with Angels on SI. “I can’t do that too much, which is tricky because you’re so close.”
The pair met at Oregon State and married last November. When Meckler had his contract selected from Double-A Rocket City in May, they became part of a rare class of athletic power couples in MLB.
Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson is married to professional soccer player Mallory Swanson, while her teammate Julia Grosso is engaged to Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña. Beyond that, no other active major leaguers are known to be married to active professional athletes.
That rarity makes sense when you look at how narrow the elite window is for both men and women. Fetherstonhaugh, who is from British Columbia, has lived that reality firsthand.
Her 2024 season brought the first injury of her career, and it came in the same year she graduated from Oregon State. She still finished third at the Canadian nationals in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but she missed by one place the national Olympic team that went to Paris.
“At first it was upsetting, then definitely motivating to be that close,” she said.
This year, she punched her ticket to the World Championships in Japan and finished eighth in her heat. The next World Championships are set for China in September 2026, and that event, along with the Pan-American Games and the North America/Central American Championships, will matter in 2028 Olympic qualifying.
A trip to Los Angeles for Team Canada would carry extra meaning for both families - hers in New Westminster, B.C., and his in Southern California.
For now, the couple makes do with offseason training together at a gym near their home in Washington state, though even that comes with a split routine.
“but the workouts are very different.”
“My shortest rep is 200 meters,” she said. “His longest, at the gym if he’s doing sprints, is like 30 meters.”
Meckler, 26, has given the baseball side of the equation a boost with a strong stretch for the Angels. Through Friday, he was hitting .295 with a .370 OBP. If major leaguers are eventually cleared for the 2028 Olympics, he’ll still need to keep performing for another couple of years to get into the conversation for Team USA.
And if MLB doesn’t allow him to play in Los Angeles, Meckler says he wouldn’t mind if the league gives its players a week off anyway. That might end up being the biggest week of his wife’s career.
In Other News...
Reid Detmers Just Gave Angels Fans One Rare Reason For Hope
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The outing ended in a no-decision after he allowed four runs, but the Angels still found a way to edge the Twins 6-5 in 11 innings. Detmers has put together strong numbers across the season and is expected to take the mound one more time before the year is over, giving Angels fans at least one more chance to see whether this late stretch can turn into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Finally Had A Night Go Right When They Needed It
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Christian Moore ended it with a game-winning infield single with the bases loaded in the 11th, the sort of finish that tends to land hardest in a season full of tight margins. The Angels did not just survive a back-and-forth night, they gave themselves a chance to carry it forward, and now the question is whether this can be the kind of win that settles them for more than one evening. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A George Klassen Decision In Lost Final Weeks
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Christian Moore is in a different spot, but the theme is similar. The infielder has struggled at the plate this season and is taking time away to work on his consistency and plate discipline, with a return expected soon. For the Angels, the remaining games are less about squeezing out one more result and more about figuring out which young pieces can still take something meaningful from a lost finish. [Read more 🡒]