St. Louis Cardinals: An open letter to the parents of Poncedeleon

2018 must be the season of Poncedeleon as the St. Louis Cardinals’ young pitcher made his MLB debut following a terrifying 2017 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals currently have in their arsenal a young hurler named Daniel Poncedeleon. If you don’t know his story, here’s a quick recap: Poncedeleon was a rising pitcher in the Cardinals’ system when a come-backer in excess of 100MPH slammed into his temple. This surely was the end of his career, right? Wrong.

After a few cranial surgeries, Daniel was back to battling for his chance to rise to the majors. That previous sentence incredibly minimizes the massive scare that befell the St. Louis Cardinals system and undoubtedly Daniel’s family.

This is where I’m coming from today– the view of his family. I’m coming from a sudden place of understanding to what the Poncedeleon family must have gone through. On Sunday, my 7-year-old daughter was trying to slide down the banister in our house and fell from the second floor onto the hard wood floor below.

She suffered a large contusion over her right eye, lost consciousness, collapsed one lung, and now has a concussion. Poncedeleon suffered a major concussion. Major. Let me tell you how terrifying the moments were after my daughter fell. I can only imagine how Poncedeleon’s family felt.

To the family of Daniel Poncedeleon, let me tell you how my heart feels for you. Let me share with you that I was scared to death when Daniel went down after the come-backer. Let me share with you how excited I was for his rehab and to see him return, and how excited I was when he made his MLB debut.

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In thinking back to yesterday’s trip to the emergency room, I imagine something similar happened with Daniel and can tell you all that as a parent there is nothing more frightening than watching your child with a head injury suddenly turn unable to respond. I know that Poncedeleon needed cranial surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and I had worried this was coming for my daughter.

Today, as she has healed and returned to near-normal behaviors, I also thought of the Poncedeleon family and how excited they must have been to see him walk again (something that the doctors had warned might never happen again). I was very excited to see my girl sit up, eat some food, and paint in her tiny hospital bed.

As scared as I was yesterday, I’m sure the Poncedeleon family and the St. Louis Cardinals were equally (or more so) scared last season. And for that, I have a new-found appreciation for the struggle of families especially when their loved one is injured.

The good news: Poncedeleon completely recovered, made his MLB debut this season, and is dominating for the St. Louis Cardinals. Also good news: my baby girl is recovering and seems unaffected by her fall.