What if you could change the ending of the novel they’ve been writing? Leave no resolution…
– Marcus King Band, Goodbye Carolina.
In his first full season in 2019, Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka was a real revelation for a Braves team getting closer and closer to becoming a true World Series contender. He had a record of 13-4 with an ERA of 2.68. He was an All Star and came in second in the 2019 National League Rookie Of The Year voting and probably should’ve won it if Pete Alonso of the New York Mets hadn’t hit an absolutely ridiculous 53 home runs as a rookie!
The Braves’ history with pitching is well-documented, with names like Neikro, Spahn, Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz all having plaques on display at the hall of fame. From the beginning, Soroka drew comparisons to Greg Maddux and he became known as “Maple Maddux,” as he’s a native of Calgary, Alberta.
2020 was supposed to be a major season for the young right hander as many had predicted him to win that year’s Cy Young award for the National League’s most valuable pitcher. But 2020 wasn’t normal for anyone…and it sure wasn’t normal for Soroka!
If you remember, that season was postponed until July because of that pandemic I’d rather not talk about. Not only that, but the season was shortened to 60 games and was primarily played in front of no fans.
Soroka was the Braves’ opening day starting pitcher that season – the youngest opening day pitcher in Braves history.
In his first two games that season, he was 0-1 with a respectable ERA of around 3.50.
Then comes August 3, 2020…a day I’m sure he’d like to forget.
The Braves trailed 3-0 against the Mets in the 3rd. The Mets had one out and runners on first and second. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was playing the Mets hitter up the middle and was far away from the first base bag when the ball was hit toward him. And in that situation, the pitcher is supposed to cover first base. The intended outcome of that play was supposed to be an attempted double play to get out of the inning.
Soroka stumbled off the mound and fell down in a heap. He tried walking, but from the way he was limping it was obvious that something went terribly wrong.
Braves manager Brian Snitker and the medical staff rushed out to the field to help him off. It was determined that he tore his right achilles tendon and would have to have season-ending surgery.
To be completely transparent, I am a lifelong Braves fan. I have been a Braves fan since the days of Bob Horner, Dale Murphy, and losing 95 games a year on WTBS. But I’m sharing this not as a baseball story but as a story of personal transformation.
When I was growing up I had this neighbor named Mike who suffered a similar injury as did Soroka. Mike was no pro athlete. He tore his achilles during a friendly mixed doubles tennis game with his wife and two friends. He said when his injury happened, he felt like someone shot his calf with a shotgun. It was the worst pain of his life.
Dan Marino was my favorite pro football player growing up. And I was watching the game in 1993 when he tore his achilles. I was no young child – I was 16 – but it scarred me seeing the replay. To see the loose tendon in the back of his leg…man!
Soroka’s injury was to his right achilles. And as a right handed pitcher, that’s the leg and foot he uses to push off the mound. This was bad news on several fronts.
Most assumed that with Soroka’s young age he would be good to go somewhere late in the 2021 season and possibly be available for the Braves postseason run. Combine his young age and the world-class physical therapists on the Braves payroll, most assumed he’d be good to go. Oh man…how wrong we all were!
That July, Soroka was walking into the Braves locker room when he felt a pop. He was simply headed to a PT appointment.
His surgically repaired achilles had re-torn! I don’t totally understand what happened. It had something to do with the interior sutures doctors used to repair the tendon.
Mortal men would’ve given up. Soroka went under the knife again.
Late in the 2022 season, he was able to pitch a couple of rehab games in the minor leagues. And yeah, they didn’t go well.
But he kept grinding. He kept pushing.
Yeah this is a sports story. The Braves have suffered some key injuries to some important pitchers, and they need him to step up. But this is way, way more than simply a sports story.
This is one of the most remarkable stories of perseverance and resilience I have ever seen!
Michael Soroka (call him Michael now) is a really bright and well-spoken man. He sat in and did guest commentary on a few game telecasts for the Braves during the 2022 season. He’s got a future on TV if he wants it.
But that would have been the ordinary ending to Soroka’s story.
He put his heart, soul, and body into coming back and stepping foot on an MLB mound again.
And on May 29, 2023, Michael Soroka pitched in a Major League Baseball game again. 1,029 days after the initial injury in Atlanta, Michael Soroka pitched in a major league game against the Oakland Athletics. Admittedly, while the A’s are historically bad – they only won 10 of their first 55 games – it’s still Major League Baseball. And they’re already 25 games behind the first place Texas Rangers.
The first hitter for the Athletics in the bottom of the first was Esteury Ruiz. Ruiz has been a very bright spot as he is MLB’s current leader in stolen bases. Soroka managed to get Ruiz to weakly ground out for the first out.
Next up was A’s first baseman Ryan Noda. Noda managed to work the pitch count to two balls and two strikes.
Soroka went into his wind up and dropped a curve ball on the outside corner, freezing Noda for strike three.
Soroka was visibly emotional as he walked off the mound. While Noda did manage to touch Soroka for a three-run home run a few innings later, that feels like a different matter entirely.
The Braves ended up losing 7-2. And while I’m frustrated with the outcome, I don’t know if I have ever been as proud of someone I’ve never personally met as I am Michael Soroka.
***
Sometimes I have a really bad habit of letting small setbacks grow and fester and stop me in my tracks. Or even worse, the setbacks that could maybe, possibly happen keep me from even trying. Those real or perceived setbacks keep me from moving forward and I fall into a victim mindset. And by that end, I allow others to control my own story.
But, I look at this young man from Calgary, Alberta and how he’s taken control of his story and I’m reminded of just how powerful we all can be.
As an up and coming football coach named Vince Lombardi said, “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get knocked down.”
As I stand on the edge of a personal transformation in my life and in a period of transition, I look at what’s possible. And seeing what Maple Maddux has done just to get back onto an MLB field reminds me that I have barely scratched the surface of my capabilities.
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