Country star Walker Hayes draws a lot of inspiration from his wife, Laney Hayes , and their six children — and his latest single, “Ball Player,” is no exception. “When I came home from the road, prior to my recent success, I met the family at the ball field every Sunday,” Walker, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Autotrader for National Dog Day. “I came home and I’m just trying to be the best dad I can on a daily basis, which means all I’m doing is failing every day and saying ‘I’m sorry.
’” Walker, who released “Ball Player” on August 16, shared that although he doesn’t feel like he’s “improving that much” as a dad, he thinks his kids will be “graceful and merciful” with him. (Walker and Laney share Lela, 18, Chapel, 17, Baylor, 15, Beckett, 12, Loxley, 11, and Everly, 7.) “I’m just doing the best I can and ‘Ball Player’ is somewhat of an apology to my kids,” he explained to Us.
“It’s basically saying, ‘Hey, I know that I live vicariously through you. It’s kind of hard not to do. I don’t want to do it.
I know it’s unhealthy, but I’m a broken man. So when you succeed, I feel it. When you fail, I feel it.
And I want to feel it for the right reasons, you know?’” Walker went on to explain that the song is also a reminder to him that he’s worth more than just his career, a lesson he hopes his children take with them when they’re older. “I need to hear that, I need to look in.