Colleges

Gator takes long trail back to diamond

After a 2003 attack left him in a coma, Florida's Brandon McArthur had to relearn how to play baseball.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published June 3, 2005

GAINESVILLE - God must be a baseball fan.

At least you'd have a tough time convincing Valerie Bullock otherwise.

Eighteen months ago, doctors told Bullock her son, Brandon McArthur, might never have a normal life. Playing baseball again wasn't even part of the conversation.

At 8 tonight, he is scheduled to be the starting third baseman when Florida opens NCAA region play against Stetson at McKethan Stadium.

Call his story the rebirth of a career that at one point seemed lost.

McArthur was a 19-year-old freshman from Seffner when he was severely injured. A stranger punched him, and McArthur hit his head on the pavement outside a Gainesville bar Oct.30, 2003.

The former Armwood star and 2003 Saladino Award winner as Hillsborough County player of the year had two brain operations within 24 hours after the attack. (He had a third in May 2004 at Tampa General Hospital).

He was in a drug-induced coma for five days, and doctors weren't sure if he would survive.

Bullock was.

"I never realized how close he was to not being here," Bullock said from her Seffner home. "Plus I had a real deep spiritual revelation when I saw him in the hospital bed that he was going to be okay and he was going to be back. And in order for him to be back, he would have to be on the ballfield.

"He would have withered up and died inside if he had not been able to play baseball again."

* * *

McArthur remembers nothing from the time his head hit the concrete outside the Grog House Bar and Grill until he was transferred to the Shands at the University of Florida at Gainesville rehabilitation center on Nov.13, 2003. (Former Florida student Jonathan Head pleaded guilty to felony battery in March 2004 and was sentenced to one year in jail and two years' probation).

McArthur spent two weeks in intensive care but arrived at the rehab center assuming he soon would be his old self.

Reality hit quickly.

"I remember my brother from Jacksonville (Mac Mackiewitz) and my coach from Tampa (Joey Fernandez) coming up, and we went outside and tried to throw at the rehab center," he said. "I tried to throw balls and hit balls, and I couldn't do it. I thought I was fine. I thought I was normal. I didn't realize how much I had lost."

What he lost physically didn't compare with the mental anguish. Memories can haunt, and McArthur's were no exception.

"The mental part was the hardest because although I didn't remember much from the hospital, I did remember how I used to play this game," he said. "But that pushed me harder to get back to where I was. It was tough to handle because before I got hurt, I was right where I wanted to be."

* * *

McArthur was so good coming out of high school, he was taken in the fifth round of the 2003 major-league draft by the Twins. So in his mind, there was only one choice. He would do whatever it took to get back to where he was.

After leaving the rehab center on Nov.22, he enlisted the help of Larry Mayol, an athletic trainer and owner of Star Care, a sports training and rehabilitation facility in Largo. Mayol worked with McArthur in high school to improve his strength and flexibility.

This would be something much different.

"When he came in that first day, it was a miracle when he walked through the door because of the severity of the injury he suffered with the attack," Mayol said. "When I first saw him, his speech wasn't 100 percent. His recall of normal events was still a little sketchy. His memory of baseball-related events was more clear, probably, than any other events that had occurred in his life. But I'm certain he was very apprehensive of what he was going to be able to do, which is typical of any athlete who has suffered an injury.

"What the CAT scan can't show and what you can't evaluate is that question rooted deep in the subconscious of any athlete: "Will I ever be what I was?"'

* * *

McArthur's rehab would test his physical and mental limits. He went to Largo three times a week to work with Mayol two to three hours each day for just more than a month .

He had lost about 30 pounds due to muscle atrophy, dropping to about 145 and reducing his endurance. His reaction time was off. Mayol put him through agility drills, activities to get his speed and recognition back, massage therapy. Then McArthur had to learn how to field, throw, catch and hold a bat.

"He saw an obstacle, and he didn't try to go around it or under it. He said I'm going over it," Mayol said. "That was his attitude."

The doctors at Shands kept him alive. Mayol gave him his life back.

"He helped put Brandon back together, and he would not let him give up," Bullock said.

Added McArthur: "I credit my comeback to him a lot because every day he pushed me harder and harder. He pushed me to the limits. I was like a small boy who couldn't do anything, and he pushed me and helped me learn to do it all again. I can't thank that guy enough."

* * *

McArthur's first game in a Gators uniform was Feb.11 against Charleston Southern. The Gators lost 5-4 in 11 innings, and McArthur went 0-for-4. But for him, it was a victory.

"It was quite emotional," he said. "I sat here, and I was like a cheerleader for this team last year because I got redshirted.

"But this year, stepping on the field, being ready to go, knowing the friends and family that I had in town, thinking about (Florida coach Pat McMahon) and the coaching staff and all they had been through wondering if I would be able to play again, it was pretty emotional."

McArthur hit .286 in SEC play with 17 runs and 13 RBIs, part of a performance that earned him a spot on the all-SEC freshman team. He is batting .278 with 23 RBIs. He had a 15-game hitting streak at one point then slumped for several weeks. He rebounded recently, going 2-for-3 against Mississippi on Saturday in the SEC tournament.

"What he has done is nothing short of remarkable," McMahon said. "Brandon's is an amazing story. He has worked so hard, and he's such a good person. He's still trying to get back everything he had before the injury. But every day, he gets a little better and a little closer to where he needs to be."

He takes Keppra twice a day to prevent seizures, but considering what he has been through, he says it's "no big deal." He speaks to students at local high schools, telling his story and serving as a witness that they can overcome obstacles. Through it all, he insists he believed he would play baseball again.

"I never doubted," he said. "You can't just throw it all away, especially when you've played this game 15 or 16 years of your life. I think this is what I'm meant to do, and I think it might inspire people because of all that I went through. They didn't think I would be able to walk or talk or anything, and now I'm out here playing the game again.

"I think it should just inspire people with any injury that they can come back and do things they want to do."

Tonight, Bullock will be in the stands with a large contingent of McArthur's family, thrilled about what he has accomplished so far and confident he will continue to get better.

"When I see him out there ... I'll be thinking about how proud I am of him," Bullock said. "He has worked so hard, and he hasn't given up. His passion is alive for the game of baseball.

"If he hadn't been able to play baseball, it would have been life altering. But God's plan and the mission he has for Brandon has not turned out to be that way. It has been a blessing."

[Last modified June 3, 2005, 01:17:06]