Corona Fans Witness A
Special Moment (3-4-10)
In every baseball season there are a handful of
magical moments that take place, and last week’s Corona Del Sol vs
O’Connor game gave us one for the ages.
Corona senior Brett Butler has always been a
special young athlete. From the time he was a tee-ball player,
everyone who watched him knew he was one of the better players in
his age group, and we all assumed he would ultimately be one of the
impact players on the Corona Del Sol roster when he reached that
point.
Unfortunately, sometimes life doesn’t follow
the script we‘d like to see.
Unknown to everyone but his family and a select
few very close friends, for most of his life, Brett had suffered
from intermittent seizures. Medication controlled the situation
until he was 15 years old, but at that point the seizures became
more frequent. In his sophomore year, Brett was diagnosed with a
lesion on his brain. The family was faced with a daunting decision,
and ultimately Brett elected to have surgery in early December in
order to recuperate over the holiday break.
When Brett awakened following the surgery, he
could not move his right arm and leg. He stayed in the hospital
through the holidays to begin rehab in hopes of countering the
paralysis. After his release, his routine included daily rehab
stints as he learned how to walk again and to use his right hand. By
March he could walk, albeit with a pronounced limp. The hand,
however, was slow in responding. Brett could not keep a glove on his
hand or catch a baseball.
Things improved slowly but surely over the
months to follow. He snowboarded the following winter. In the spring
of his junior year, unable to play baseball, Brett joined the track
team. He wasn’t winning races, but his will and spirit ensured that
he finished.
Last summer Brett and his father began the
process of returning to the baseball field. His left throwing arm
was not an issue, but the glove hand made it very difficult to catch
the ball. Corona’s catchers learned to return the ball to him with
lob throws.
In the absolute no-brainer decision of the
year, Corona Del Sol Coach Dave Webb selected Brett for the varsity
roster.
Fast forward to last Saturday’s game against
Sandra day O’Connor, where the Aztecs were comfortably ahead 11-1
and about to close the door via run rule in the 5th.
Taking the mound to close things out was a tall red headed left
hander. Those who knew the situation fought off the enormous lumps
in the throat. Those who didn’t, probably had no clue other than the
curious lob throws back from the catcher.
In a scene straight from a Capra flick, Brett
struck out the first hitter he faced. The next hitter popped out to
second base. With 2 outs and no one on, Brett was working with a 2-2
count when the hitter connected with a sharply hit comebacker. Brett
speared the ball with his glove hand, wheeled, and threw the runner
out at first.
The Aztec dugout emptied en masse as they had
done last May after capturing the state title.
This time, however, it was to celebrate the
human spirit and the courage and tenacity of a friend many had known
since childhood… a magic moment indeed.
Congratulations and thank you Brett, you are an inspiration
to us all.
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