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From Ryan Braun (Brewers) on “When I knew no fence was too far”

As a freshman at Granada Hills High in Los Angeles, I was supposed to play with the jayvee team. But someone on  the varsity got in trouble and couldn’t play, so I took his spot. It was my first high school game ever. We were playing at home as part of the Daily News Invitational so it was a big deal. I singled in my first at-bat and homered in my second. I ended up going 3-for-3. My parents were there, and it was cool for them to see me having success against guys four years older. That was one of the first moments that made me recognize, Wow, I can play at this level.

From the Rumor Central column on Jason Marquis (Rockies):

He’s having a career year at the right time, but he’s been dumped by three big-time managers: Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Lou Pinella. Marquis, who turns 31 on Aug. 21, will be lucky to get more than a two-year deal.

And from the MLB section, “Mama’s Boy,” by Anna Katherine Clemmons

Most people who’ve ever achieved anything in life can thank their mother for getting them started on the right path. But Giants pitcher Ryan Sadowski owes his mom a special debt.

Although he was buried on the bench and threw just 6 2/3 innings during his ime at the U. of Florida, Sadowski still felt he had the stuff to pitch professionally. problem was, scouts hadn’t seen him since his high school days in Miami. So to get noticed, he asked his mom, Elaine, to leave messages with every scout in the area. “Hi, Ryan Sadowski is still pitching and would like to speak with you. Can you please give my son a call?”

A few responded and Sadowski, a 6’4″, 195-pound righthander, worked out for the Giants, Royals and White Sox. He looked good enough that word spread, and a week before the draft, nearly 30 scouts watched him throw. The Giants selected him in the 12th-rounder. “When you’re a 12th-rounder who hasn’t played in three years, you won’t get too many people excited,” says Sadowski, who’s now 26. “I went through the minors incognito.”

He struggled with significant injuries: a subdural hematoma (bledding in the brain), possibly caused by a fall in the shower in 2003, and shoulder surgery in 2006 that cost him the season. But Sadowski hung in there and, this summer, finally got called up. He made his debut in Milwaukee on June 28, throwing six scoreless innings, with his parents, Elaine and Arnie, in the stands. “We wanted to be there to share it,” she says. “We were so excited.”

Since then, Sadowski has shuttled between San Francisco and triple-A Fresno. Elaine and Arnie follow his progress on the inernet. And, of course, they call.

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2009 New Jersey Jewish News

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