Lefty
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I think everyone knows the story about what happened to Luis Terrero last November but I still thought I would post this nice article about him. By the way, I wonder how long the Diamondbacks can keep Luis and Chad Tracy down in Tucson? Both guys have hit safely in all six games and Chad hit his second game winning home run last night. Luis leads the league in average, stolen bases, hits and runs.
By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Like any aspiring athlete, Luis Terrero spent a lot of time thinking about the future.
But now, after a brush with mortality, Terrero has adapted a more mature outlook.
"Before, I was thinking so much about the future. Now, I just live by the day," said Terrero, an outfielder with the Sidewinders.
Terrero, 23, a five-tool player who possesses the skills that major-league teams are seeking, is entering his seventh year of pro ball after signing with the Diamondbacks as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Republic.
He received a brief call-up from the D'backs last summer, getting four at-bats in five games during a 12-day stint in July. But like most prospects, Terrero returned to the Dominican Republic in the off-season to play winter ball.
Terrero managed to play only nine games before what was originally diagnosed as a shoulder injury turned into the scare of his life in November.
"I was hitting before the game, and I started feeling my arm getting icky," said Terrero, whose left arm lost feeling, swelled to the size of his muscular calf, and began to blacken with the buildup of blood. "It felt heavy because all the blood was in my arm."
The trainer for La Romana, the team Terrero and fellow Sidewinder Chad Tracy were playing for, determined the swollen arm and shoulder was probably just an allergic reaction and needed to be iced.
But teammates Esteban German and Jarrod Patterson intervened, and after failing to convince the trainer, they took Terrero to a nearby hospital.
"They almost had to beat the trainer," Terrero said. "They took me to the hospital, and I (didn't) have a pulse (in my arm). My arm was dead."
Terrero was diagnosed with a blood clot, one that could have been fatal had it broken free and traveled to his heart or brain. It required him to be taken by helicopter to Santo Domingo, then flown to the United States, first to Miami, and eventually to St. Louis, where surgery was performed.
"I thank God for him (being) there," Terrero said of Patterson, a former Sidewinder third baseman now playing for the Kansas City Royals' Triple-A team in Omaha, Neb.
Terrero did not want to criticize the health care available to him in La Romana, but Tracy said problems were common.
Tracy pulled a hamstring and returned to the U.S. for treatment, rather than handle it on the island.
"If you've been there, you know the hospitals aren't first-rate," Tracy said.
Terrero sat out the rest of winter ball but was healthy in time for spring training, and so far with Tucson, he is off to a great start.
He opened with a 5-for-6 night that included a solo home run, and entered Tuesday leading the Pacific Coast League in hits (11), runs scored (eight) and stolen bases (three), was second in batting average (.550), and was fourth in on-base percentage (.591).
Terrero did not start in Tuesday's 7-6 victory over Portland but entered the game in the seventh. He was 2 for 2 to increase his season-opening hitting streak to six games. His double in the ninth helped fuel a four-run rally and the victory.
"The work I've been doing, that's made this happen," said Terrero, who believes he has become more mature at the plate.
Sidewinders manager Chip Hale has used Terrero mostly as the No. 6 or 7 hitter. For most of last summer, he batted leadoff.
"I think he feels more comfortable down in the order," Hale said. "He's been hot with driving in runs. He'll move all over (the lineup)."
Hale says he believes the life-changing experience has helped Terrero focus and improve his chances of getting a longer stay at the next level.
"He's becoming a real professional," Hale said. "I don't think people realize how close he was to not making it out of there."
By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Like any aspiring athlete, Luis Terrero spent a lot of time thinking about the future.
But now, after a brush with mortality, Terrero has adapted a more mature outlook.
"Before, I was thinking so much about the future. Now, I just live by the day," said Terrero, an outfielder with the Sidewinders.
Terrero, 23, a five-tool player who possesses the skills that major-league teams are seeking, is entering his seventh year of pro ball after signing with the Diamondbacks as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Republic.
He received a brief call-up from the D'backs last summer, getting four at-bats in five games during a 12-day stint in July. But like most prospects, Terrero returned to the Dominican Republic in the off-season to play winter ball.
Terrero managed to play only nine games before what was originally diagnosed as a shoulder injury turned into the scare of his life in November.
"I was hitting before the game, and I started feeling my arm getting icky," said Terrero, whose left arm lost feeling, swelled to the size of his muscular calf, and began to blacken with the buildup of blood. "It felt heavy because all the blood was in my arm."
The trainer for La Romana, the team Terrero and fellow Sidewinder Chad Tracy were playing for, determined the swollen arm and shoulder was probably just an allergic reaction and needed to be iced.
But teammates Esteban German and Jarrod Patterson intervened, and after failing to convince the trainer, they took Terrero to a nearby hospital.
"They almost had to beat the trainer," Terrero said. "They took me to the hospital, and I (didn't) have a pulse (in my arm). My arm was dead."
Terrero was diagnosed with a blood clot, one that could have been fatal had it broken free and traveled to his heart or brain. It required him to be taken by helicopter to Santo Domingo, then flown to the United States, first to Miami, and eventually to St. Louis, where surgery was performed.
"I thank God for him (being) there," Terrero said of Patterson, a former Sidewinder third baseman now playing for the Kansas City Royals' Triple-A team in Omaha, Neb.
Terrero did not want to criticize the health care available to him in La Romana, but Tracy said problems were common.
Tracy pulled a hamstring and returned to the U.S. for treatment, rather than handle it on the island.
"If you've been there, you know the hospitals aren't first-rate," Tracy said.
Terrero sat out the rest of winter ball but was healthy in time for spring training, and so far with Tucson, he is off to a great start.
He opened with a 5-for-6 night that included a solo home run, and entered Tuesday leading the Pacific Coast League in hits (11), runs scored (eight) and stolen bases (three), was second in batting average (.550), and was fourth in on-base percentage (.591).
Terrero did not start in Tuesday's 7-6 victory over Portland but entered the game in the seventh. He was 2 for 2 to increase his season-opening hitting streak to six games. His double in the ninth helped fuel a four-run rally and the victory.
"The work I've been doing, that's made this happen," said Terrero, who believes he has become more mature at the plate.
Sidewinders manager Chip Hale has used Terrero mostly as the No. 6 or 7 hitter. For most of last summer, he batted leadoff.
"I think he feels more comfortable down in the order," Hale said. "He's been hot with driving in runs. He'll move all over (the lineup)."
Hale says he believes the life-changing experience has helped Terrero focus and improve his chances of getting a longer stay at the next level.
"He's becoming a real professional," Hale said. "I don't think people realize how close he was to not making it out of there."
