What began with surgery and a prayer last October was delayed by a sickening crack Tuesday night. But Dave Dravecky's comeback isn't over.
Dravecky, who went from cancer to the victory column in 10 months, says so. And none of the medical experts who struck out on the pitcher's grim prognosis last fall are predicting he won't make it back this time.The left-hander vowed to return to the mound "as soon as I can. . . . If it's in God's plans to be back on the mound, then I'll be there."
Even, he quipped, if he has to come back as a right-hander.
It is testimony to the 33-year-old Dravecky's resilience that he was able to joke about his arm fracture only hours after it ended his brief season. The abrupt finish in Montreal, on an aborted sixth-inning fastball to Tim Raines, was so painful that he said it sounded and felt as if someone had taken an ax to the middle of his arm.
Doctors found a spiral oblique fracture - a twisting break, not unlike the stripes on a candy cane - that didn't affect the muscle where a cancerous tumor was removed last October.
"I don't see any reason why he can't go through the rehabilitation program and pitch next year," a physician for the Giants said.
But doctors also said they warned Dravecky last year that he was risking a fracture if he tried to pitch - a risk he'll run again next year.
"The possibility of a fracture was there for up to two years after the surgery," said Dr. George F. Muschler, the Cleveland Clinic surgeon who operated on Dravecky.
Muschler said it was possible the fracture could speed a recurrence of the cancer, although it would not be an actual cause of a recurrence.
Dravecky himself isn't about to second-guess the experts.
"We were aware of the sensitivity of the bone, but there was no added emphasis of caution," he said. "Once we passed through the danger zone - somewhere around four to six months - we were confident to go ahead."
Dravecky's moving comeback story has captivated fans and non-fans alike.
After being plagued by shoulder stiffness all last season, the problem was diagnosed last September as a malignant tumor - not life-threatening but apparently career-ending. Half his deltoid muscle was removed in an Oct. 7 surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, and Dravecky, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, needed help just to lift his arm.
Dravecky surprised everyone by returning to the majors after three successful starts in the minors. He attributed his achievement to long hours of rehabilitation and a strong faith in God.