July 4: Hawks' Parker handcuffs Lugnuts
July 5: Hawks' righty gets near no-hitter
July 6: Wizards shut down Silver Hawks
July 7: Timely hitting key for Hawks
July 8: Hawks find different ways to score runs
July 9: Out of grief, Zavada finds relief
Clay Zavada has happy memories of draft day in 2006.
"My dad and I were working the same factory,'' recalls the South Bend left-handed relief pitcher. "I wasn't monitoring the draft, but he was. When I was drafted, he ran through he factory to tell me. I believe it was one of the happiest days of his life.''
It didn't take long for Arizona's 30th round draft choice to quit his job and make his way to Missoula, Mont., in the Pioneer League.
His 3-3 record, with a 3.52 ERA, was probably good enough to earn him a chance to pitch South Bend in 2007. But those plans suddenly changed when his father, also named Clay, suffered a fatal heart attack on Dec. 28, 2006.
"He was 55, he never drank, he never smoked, he was the healthiest guy in the world," said Zavada, who lost his mother to cancer when he was 3 years old. "If it were not for my dad, I wouldn't even be playing baseball.''
The tragedy in his life caused Clay to push baseball aside for a while. He did not report to spring training in 2007 and was eventually released by the Diamondbacks.
Released, but not forgotten.
No comments:
Post a Comment