Ryan McGee May 29, 2026, 07:00 AM ET Close Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com 2-time Sports Emmy winner 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Erik Paulsen Jr. wants us to know about his dad. The UNC Tar Heels first baseman's father died less than 11 months ago. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one knows that during every single day of that first trip through the calendar without them -- the first round of missed milestones, birthdays, holidays -- the grief of it is raw. Talking about them, using past tense about the person who was there for every step of life, can feel like gasping for air. But here the 21-year-old sits, dressed in Carolina blue, not sobbing, rather telling stories with a smile on his face. The way he carries on, you'd think Erik Sr. was still here. Heck, you'd think he was sitting outside, in the grandstand of Boshamer Stadium, waiting to watch his son play ball. Because Erik Jr. wants us to know about his dad. "You would have loved him.…