By Daniel Brown
[email protected]
Posted: 04/13/2012 03:58:58 PM PDT
Updated: 04/13/2012 10:29:16 PM PDT
As he stood next to Bryan Stow's son before the ceremonial first pitch Friday, Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt worried that the kid might be too nervous. Affeldt surveyed the sellout crowd and leaned in to ask Tyler Stow, 13, if he could handle the pressure.
"I'm ready for this," Tyler said.
"We all are," Affeldt replied.
With that, Tyler whizzed a fastball toward the plate, an act that not only welcomed baseball back to AT&T Park but also provided a lump-in-the-throat milestone in the comeback of the Giants fan beaten into a coma last opening day outside Dodger Stadium.
The Giants had crossed their fingers all winter that Bryan Stow would be there himself. The original plan called for the 43-year-old former paramedic from Santa Cruz to ring in the home opener by dropping the first pitch into catcher Buster Posey's glove.
But rather than risk a step backward in Stow's slow comeback, the Giants got inventive. Stow appeared via video, flanked by his mother, Ann, on the AT&T Park scoreboard.
The mere site of Stow on the big screen dressed in Giants gear generated thunderous applause just before the start of the afternoon game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After Ann thanked the fans for supporting their family's fight, Bryan Stow raised his right hand to reveal he was holding a pearly white baseball.
With a voice that was strong, if monotone, he spoke directly to Tyler."Here's the ball. Good luck, son."Tyler took it from there, launching into a full windup and zinging a pitch into the glove of third-base coach Tim Flannery. The crowd, which had roared for Willie Mays and Willie McCovey moments earlier, took the ovation to new heights for Tyler's fastball.<snip>Stow's verbal skills are likely to remain limited. The men who attacked him -- two suspects remain in Los Angeles County jail, awaiting trial -- repeatedly and forcefully slammed Stow's forehead into the ground. The frontal lobe of his brain was damaged beyond recovery and had to be partially removed.
Giants CEO Larry Baer said Friday that the team was careful about finding a way to include Stow in the pregame ceremony.
They didn't want to disrupt his treatment or set back his progress. But they wanted him. more at link:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/gia...contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com