TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Finally, Chad Tracy is having a routine spring training.
The knee surgery that sidelined him, and the subsequent blood clot that threatened his life, are history.
He enters the 2009 season healthy as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ projected starter at first base, and for that he is grateful.
“These guys have let me try to get back to my form and haven’t given up on me, which I appreciate,” Tracy said after the team’s workout Tuesday. “Hopefully, I don’t let them down.”
Arizona manager Bob Melvin called it “a big year” for Tracy. The muscular 28-year-old who once started at third base and played a bit in right field is in the final season of a three-year, $13.25 million contract. The club has an option to pay him $7 million for next season, and he is out to show his worth.
“He wants to be here,” Melvin said, “he wants to be a Diamondback for a long period of time, and already has been.”
dered the young foundation of the Diamondbacks’ offense. He hit .305 with 27 home runs in 2005, warming up in the last 25 games to bat .375 with seven doubles, seven homers, two triples and 25 RBIs. In 2006, he hit .281 with 20 homers and a career-best 80 RBIs.
He was struggling at the plate, trying too much to be a power hitter, in 2006, then came the problems with his right knee in 2007. In September of that year, Tracy underwent microfracture surgery. Later, doctors discovered a blood clot that, had it moved up from his leg, could have threatened his life.
It was a jolt that changed Tracy forever.
“Baseball was put on the back burner,” he said. “It was more about trying not to let the thing move and pretty much fighting for your life. You start researching those numbers on people who have blood clots and some of them actually pass away from it. It’s scary, not to mention I had a wife and kid to think about.”
Blood-thinning medication eventually resolved the problem, but Tracy’s rehabilitation was set back significantly. Meanwhile, young Mark Reynolds settled in at third, with Conor Jackson taking over at first.
In late May 2008, Tracy finally returned from the disabled list, but he was on the bench, primarily used as a pinch hitter. The acquisition of Adam Dunn to play first and Jackson’s switch to left field cemented Tracy’s role.
game,” he said. “I kept myself sharp and I think I helped the team coming off the bench on certain nights. … It’s the toughest job in the game for sure, without a doubt.”
Tracy appeared in 88 games last season, batting .267 with eight homers and 39 RBIs. His future in Arizona did not look bright.
“If you go back to this time of year, even throughout the season – the way things went toward the end – I couldn’t see myself in this position right now,” Tracy said, quickly adding. “Nothing’s for sure and I’m not taking anything for granted.”
The Diamondbacks chose not to try to re-sign Dunn, and banked on the idea that a full offseason of rehabilitation work would restore Tracy to good health and productivity. He says he’s confident he can return to the form that made him a good singles and doubles hitter, with an occasional home run thrown in.
“It’s just staying with your approach and not trying to be anybody that you’re not,” Tracy said. “They’re not expecting me to be anybody but me.”
Meanwhile, he will try to simply enjoy the job.
“We play a kid’s game for a living, and everybody in here gets paid really well to do it,” he said as he sat at his locker.
His long, difficult return to the game, he said, gives him “a new perspective.”
s than two (outs),” he said, “you can take a step back and look at things in the big picture, and tell yourself how fortunate you are to be in a situation like that.”
Add A Comment