After consulting with several medical experts, Pete Mickartz had
two choices on how to repair a partially torn pectoral tendon in
his chest and a sub-scaffold in his shoulder. Undergo rehab, or go
under the knife.
After consulting with several medical experts, Pete Mickartz had two choices on how to repair a partially torn pectoral tendon in his chest and a sub-scaffold in his shoulder.
Undergo rehab, or go under the knife.
With no guarantee that surgery would allow him to properly recover, Mickartz chose therapy, showing during nearly a year’s worth of rehab that he’s no quitter.
Six months passed before he picked up a baseball. Now, Mickartz, a 2005 Gilroy High graduate and redshirt freshman for Chico State’s baseball team, is the ace of the Wildcat’s starting pitching rotation and one of the best hurlers in Division II baseball.
Through the first month of the season, Mickartz has won all five of his starts while keeping home plate unusually clean with a 1.57 ERA. Much of that is due to the .206 batting average Mickartz has allowed while striking out 22 batters. His best game to date was a week ago when he tossed eight scoreless innings and only allowed one hit in a 3-1 win over San Francisco State. Mickartz was taken out of the game in the final frame so the Wildcats’ closer could get some experience, keeping the freshman from becoming the school’s first pitcher to allow only one hit in a shutout. Chico State’s coaches were not aware of the record in reach at the time.
Along with undeniable talent, past and present coaches of Mickartz say his results come from a drive and determination that can’t be quantified.
“He’s one of the best kids to ever come out of our program,” Gilroy High baseball coach Clint Wheeler said. “Absolute great character, one of the hardest working kids around.”
Wheeler’s words match the numbers. In his senior year as a Mustang, Mickartz led Gilroy in every positive statistical category for pitching and hitting. His attitude, however, can be counted on just as much as his talent. Where many people would have called it a career, Mickartz viewed his injury as a call-to-action.
“I think he handled it pretty well,” Wheeler said. “Most kids would be devastated. But he was positive, upbeat and it helped him get through it.”
According to Mickartz, the injury occurred while lifting weights during the fall of 2006 and got progressively worse as he tried to keep pitching.
“I had never experienced that kind of pain in my arm before,” he said. “Regardless of how or when I threw, it was always there.”
Chico had just hired a new coach, Dave Taylor, before Mickartz got hurt, which would make most players uneasy after the last coach, Lindsay Meggs, had already redshirted Mickartz a year prior after cutting 12 returning upperclassmen the same day.
But Taylor, a former assistant for Chico with big-league experience as a catcher, had seen something in Mickartz during spring and fall workouts. Described as a player’s coach by Mickartz when compared to the more strict regime under Meggs, Taylor gave the Gilroy product an opportunity to recover before coming to any conclusions on whether to cut him. The wait paid off.
“You gotta tip your hat to him to put the time in and rehab that arm,” Taylor said. “It takes a lot of sacrifice to do that. It’s a tribute to his character and who he is.”
Now throwing fastballs in the low-90’s again while also adding a slick slider and a deceiving change-up, Mickartz is making it happen at a level that could make him a legitimate prospect at the next level.
“I think he’s got a chance if he continues to get better,” Taylor said. “… If he continues to stay on his work and the strengthening program, after his junior year, he’s going to get a chance to stay in school or play professional baseball.”
What makes Mickartz unique, and possibly better suited to achieve such a goal, is that it won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t happen.
“It’s always a possibility but I’m here to get my degree first,” Mickartz said. “But any kind of professional baseball would be fantastic.”
Taylor said such maturity is what has made Mickartz a leader on a young but talented Wildcats squad that is currently 12-4 and ranked 16th in the nation in Division II.
“The thing that’s good about Pete is he’s a freshman, but he really acts more like a seasoned veteran,” Taylor said.
Not bad considering he’s not even halfway through his first season.
