710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer
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E-mail thisA baseball player can play on the same team for years and do his job on the field yet fail to make an impact on his teammates or community. There is nowhere in a players contract where it says that they must be a role model, they must give back or they must inspire. Most players do these things to some extent. To some it comes naturally. With others there is an event that perhaps pushes them in that direction. A small number of players do it for the recognition, the photo op. Some do it quietly for other reasons.
Mark Lowe can throw a baseball 100 miles an hour. There was a time when throwing 80 was in serious doubt. Mark Lowe has been a steady presence in the clubhouse this year. Last year there were inexplicable ups and downs, days when he could barely walk out to the bullpen and others when it felt that the world was moving 100 miles an hour. Through this all Mark has very quietly focused on what he could do for others and that is now being recognized. A huge honor has been bestowed upon Lowe who was told by his mother this morning in an e-mail.
Lowe as he is one of ten players in baseball to be nominated for this years Hutch Award. Earlier this season Mark's teammates nominated him for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. Some expressed surprise at this as while he is popular, there are bigger and more visible in the community players on the team. In Mark's words he does nothing to "get praise in the media or anything like that," but this media member thinks it is time more people know what he does and that the fans have the opportunity to appreciate him.
The Hutch Award is given annually to the Major League Player who best exemplifies the "Honor, Courage and Dedication" of the late Fred Hutchinson. The award typically goes to a player who has overcome adversity in his professional or personal life. It dates back to 1965 when Mickey Mantle was the first recipient. Sandy Koufax, Tommy John, Johnny Bench, Joe Torre are on the list of winners as well as former and current Mariners John Olerud, Jamie Moyer and Mike Sweeney.
For Mark the nomination was an unexpected surprise. He has great appreciation for the award as he has attended the banquet the last three years.
"It’s an honor, a huge award especially for city of Seattle," Mark said in a phone interview today. "Last year Tom Seaver spoke at the banquet and John Lester won. It was pretty neat. Sitting there and watching for three years, it just shows how much courage people have and I don't think people get to see that aspect of athletes. People don't always realize that everything has not been handed to us. There are ups and downs for everyone. Lester battled cancer and came back from it."
Lowe has had his own physical battles, while not life threatening, an elbow condition was career threatening. Lowe suffered from a chondral defect in his pitching elbow. When Dr. Yocum performed the surgery in 2006 he discovered bone on bone and virtually no cartilage in the elbow. You can count on one hand the number of pitchers who have come back from this surgery. When I interviewed Dr. Yocum in Anaheim in 2008 he said that Mark coming back and pitching at this level was a near miracle.
Mariners Head Trainer Rick Griffin remembers how grim the situation was, and how it effected Mark.
"After Dr. Yocum finished the surgery he said there was a 30 percent chance Mark could come back and pitch at the same level he had. When you tell that to an athlete, that is bad. Mark was very, very determined. He understood the odds and actually worked that to his advantage. It helped him focus and concentrate. He actually had to have two surgeries, the second when there was irritation. He arrived so quickly, and then it was taken away. It made him appreciate what being in the big leagues was all about."
For Mark the surgery was life changing.
"Honestly I feel blessed to be able to still pitch. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the opportunity I had to play ball before, but it opened my eyes to how fast things can change. Every day out there could be my last. And that's how I approach every day now. I enjoy going out there with my teammates, playing the game, it puts everything in perspective, how fortunate I am to play this game and have the things in my life that I do. After that, I just go with it."
The elbow would have been enough to knock most men out of the game, but adversity would knock again in 2008, a season he calls "very close to a lost year."
He was one full year back from the surgery. This is a time when you look for the complete rebound, for the player to get back to what he was or close to it. Mark's year was up and down. While the velocity on the fastball was promising he was fighting to find his control and the slider did not have the nasty break it had before the surgery. This was the least of his problems.
I had noticed that year that Mark often looked tired. Not just tired but beat up, exhausted, even a little bit down. He looked like he had maybe been overdoing it at night. It turns out this wasn't the problem. His blood sugar was. As down as I saw him at times, there were other times when the world was going 100 miles an hour for him.
"The high blood sugar would come in and I couldn't focus on the names in front of the lockers, it was a blur. I would even take that into the game and knowing what I know now, I don't know how I competed," he said.
What he knows now is that he is a diabetic. The diagnoses did not end the problems however. For months he tried to regulate his blood sugar through diet without success. He now takes insulin but it is still a major challenge to find the right balance. When I spoke with him today he was returning from meeting with a dietician.
The diabetes and the elbow take daily maintenance that Mark views as more of a blessing than a bother.
"Diabetes gives me an extra incentive to be more prepared than everyone else. I have to watch what I eat and that I get enough rest. With the elbow, I think about it every single day. I have to do things extra in the clubhouse every day that others don’t have to do. I have to do things in the pen before I pitch and in the training room after the game. It makes me stronger as a person."
It has also made him even more sensitive to those in need. He co chaired the Annual Cystic Fibrosis Golf Tournament this year as well as participated in numerous charity events with Mariners cares. He speaks with children with diabetes and has made unpublicized visits to the VA Hospital with other members of the bullpen. He wants to do more.
"The best time I have ever had has been on the caravan going to hospitals and seeing how you can touch a child's life. A kid that hasn't smiled in three months and you walk out of there and the parent tells you it is the first time they have seen their kid smile in three months-it just touches you. It shows you that having the job that you do, you are able to have an effect on other peoples lives and to have that opportunity and not take advantage of it would be kind of selfish."
Mark is setting a great example in the clubhouse and the guys take notice. Griffin points to what they see.
"When he does bad his demeanor does not change. He just goes into the training room and does his work the same as he would any other day. He does not change or point fingers or hang his head and the players respect him. He is a lot like Don (Wakamatsu) in that he doesn't show emotion on the field or in the clubhouse. He is very, very steady."
Although he is only 26 Mark has been through a lot in baseball and to him, it would not be worth it if he were not able to pass some of his experience on to those around him.
"I had JJ and he showed me the things I needed to know and I took bits and pieces from him and created my own way to go. I want to be a good influence on the young guys. I take complete and total pride when any young guy comes to me and asks a question even though they are just a year younger, I have been in this game for awhile now and I just like that they trust me and want my advice. It is huge, something truly special."
His teammates showed their appreciation for him Sunday. Lowe was not able to be at the final game as he left Saturday night to attend the funeral of his grandfather. His bullpen mates hung his jersey in the bullpen during the game, then carried it high during the parade around the field.
"It gave me chills," Mark said. "Shawn Kelly texted me about the celebration and how emotional it was. I saw Lopez yesterday and we talked about how there is just something different. I think the fans finally understood what this year has been for us. It was great to share it with them. When they walked out of the stadium they knew we had something special."
In Mark Lowe, the Mariners have something special.
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