Two really solid pieces of writing from the latest Sports Illustrated.
The L. Jon Wertheim story is Sight To Behold on Atlanta Braves minor league coach Luis Salazar and his horrific injury suffered during a Spring Training game this year. From a foul ball off the bat of Brian McCann, Salazar had his left eye damaged to the point it had to be removed.
Rather than being a sad tale, Salazar's story is one of a man who has done what he loves in the game of baseball and is able to continue... just without as his doctors put it, the possibility of being a fighter pilot on the side. While the anecdote may seem glib to some, it really isn't at all given how much worse the injury from a batted ball to the head could have been. For evidence of this possibility, one need look no further than the riveting book "Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in the Minor League America" by S.L. Price (which I reviewed here).
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Out of this same SI issue came Deep In The Heart Of The City on the Stanley Cup Finalist Boston Bruins. Written by Leigh Montville, the story chronicles city's love affair with the team from the days of Orr and Esposito through this current iteration of Lucic and Thomas. It's very cool writing that traffics in what a team can mean to it's fans and town.
