Dave Dravecky 306335 225907517 2008-07-15T23:28:01Z Milk's Favorite Bot 7074530 [[WP:MOS|Manual of style]]/other general fixes. (BOT) {{Infobox MLB retired |bgcolor1=#181818 |bgcolor2=#F9461C |textcolor1=white |textcolor2=white |name=Dave Dravecky |image= |position=[[Pitcher]] |bats=Right |throws=Left |birthdate={{birth date and age|1956|02|14}} |deathdate= |debutdate=[[June 15]] |debutyear={{by|1982}} |debutteam=[[San Diego Padres]] |finaldate=[[August 15]] |finalyear=[[1989]] |finalteam=[[San Francisco Giants]] |stat1label=[[Win (baseball)|Win-Loss]] |stat1value=64-57 |stat2label=[[Earned Run Average|ERA]] |stat2value=3.13 |stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s| |stat3value=558 |teams=<nowiki></nowiki><!--This forces MediaWiki to recognize the first bullet. Kind of a workaround to a bug.--> *[[San Diego Padres]] ({{by|1982}}-{{by|1987}}) *[[San Francisco Giants]] ({{by|1987}}-{{by|1989}}) |highlights=<nowiki></nowiki> *[[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] (NL): 1983 * 1989 [[Hutch Award]] }} '''David Francis Dravecky''' (born [[February 14]], [[1956 in sports|1956]] in [[Youngstown, Ohio]], [[United States]]) is a [[Christian]] motivational speaker, author, and former [[Major League Baseball]] player for the [[San Diego Padres]] (1982-87) and [[San Francisco Giants]] (1987-89). He is well remembered for his battle against [[cancer]], which ended his career as his team was reaching the [[1989 World Series|World Series]]. He won the [[Hutch Award]] in 1989. A left-handed [[pitcher]], Dravecky represented the Padres at the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] game in {{by|1983}}, his second season, in which he [[Win (baseball statistics)|won]] 14 games. Equally proficient as a [[starting pitcher|starter]] or coming out of the [[bullpen]], Dravecky helped the Padres to their first pennant the [[1984 in baseball|following year]]. In {{by|1987}}, the Giants acquired Dravecky for their pennant drive. He went 7-5 during the stretch, and in the [[1987 National League Championship Series|playoffs]] pitched a [[shutout]] in Game 2 against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] and lost Game 6 by a score of 1-0. The Cards won in seven games. == Crisis and comeback == The following season, a cancerous [[desmoid tumor]] was found in Dravecky's pitching arm. He underwent surgery on [[October 7]], {{by|1988}}, removing half of the [[deltoid]] muscle in his pitching arm and freezing the [[humerus|humerus bone]] in an effort to eliminate all of the cancerous cells. By [[1989#July|July 1989]], he was pitching in the [[Minor league baseball|minors]], and on [[August 10]], he made a highly publicized return to the major leagues, pitching 8 innings and defeating [[Cincinnati Reds|Cincinnati]] 4-3. In his following start five days later against the [[Montreal Expos|Expos]], Dravecky pitched three no-hit innings, but in the fifth inning, he felt a tingling sensation in his arm. In the sixth inning he started off shaky, allowing a [[home run]] to the lead off batter and then hitting the second batter. Then, on his first pitch to [[Tim Raines]], his [[humerus]] bone snapped, ending his [[1989 in baseball|career]]. To see a pitcher break his arm with a loud cracking sound while doing something as ordinary as throwing a pitch, then fall to the ground rolling in agonizing pain, was shocking, unusual, and upsetting, especially for those who had followed his touching story. The pitch was replayed on television repeatedly over the following days. The Giants won the [[National League]] pennant in [[1989 National League Championship Series|1989]], and in the post-game celebration, Dravecky's arm was broken a second time by [[Kevin Mitchell (baseball player)|Kevin Mitchell]] and [[Kelly Downs]]. A doctor examining Dravecky's [[x-ray]]s noticed a mass in his arm. Cancer had returned. Eighteen days later, Dravecky retired from baseball, leaving a 64-57 record with 558 [[strikeout]]s and a 3.13 [[Earned run average|ERA]] in 1,062.2 innings. He won the 1989 [[Willie Mac Award]] honoring his spirit and leadership. == Retirement and later career == After two more surgeries, his left arm continued to deteriorate, and on [[July 18]], {{by|1991}}, less than two years after his comeback with the Giants, Dravecky's left arm and shoulder were amputated. Then he went on as a motivational speaker. Dravecky wrote two books about his battles with cancer and his comeback attempt: ''Comeback,'' published in [[1990 in literature|1990]], and ''When You Can't Come Back,'' published in [[1992 in literature|1992]]. He has also written a Christian motivational book titles "Called Up" which was published in 2004 by Zondervan. With the help of Tim Stafford Dave Dravecky also wrote a self-titled autobiography for children. ==External links== *[http://www.davedravecky.org/ Official Website] *Dave Dravecky at: **[http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Dravecky_Dave.stm Baseball Library] **[http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/draveda01.shtml Baseball Reference] **[http://www.outreachofhope.org/ Outreach of Hope] **[http://premierespeakers.com/1161/index.cfm Overcoming Adversity] **[http://www.davedraveckystory.com Dave Dravecky Audio Life Story & Transcript] {{Hutch Award}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dravecky, Dave}} [[Category:Major league pitchers]] [[Category:San Diego Padres players]] [[Category:San Francisco Giants players]] [[Category:National League All-Stars]] [[Category:Major league players from Ohio]] [[Category:American motivational speakers]] [[Category:American Christians]] [[Category:People from Youngstown, Ohio|Dravecky, Dave]] [[Category:American amputees]] [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]]