By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
PEORIA, Ariz. – Every night before Blake Barthol goes to bed, he writes a note in a journal that someday he’ll give to his 19-month-old daughter, Jaylee.
“I’m doing this because I didn’t want her to grow up and wonder where I was all this time,” said Barthol, a 28-year-old catcher who has spent all seven of his pro seasons in the minor leagues. “Dad’s not at home much while he’s playing.”
The diary entries have gotten much longer the past few days as Barthol worries about an ache in his right shoulder that could have career implications. Doctors fear he may have a torn labrum in the shoulder, and a magnetic resonance imaging exam administered late Thursday afternoon will show for sure.
Today, the medical staff will view the MRI and learn the damage in the shoulder and whether surgery is needed.
“I haven’t slept in three or four nights,” Barthol said. “I’ve never had anything that I’ve been this worried about. I’m getting older and without big-league time, it’s getting close to that age.”
Barthol, who batted .277 at Class AAA Tacoma last year and is slated for a return there this season, had attributed the pain to soreness that is common this time of year. Then he made a throw to second base during a game last week and knew something was badly amiss.
“I threw the ball before the first inning and I don’t know how it got there,” he said. “I was supposed to play four innings that day and I remember thinking, ‘Oh no, I have three more of these throws to make between innings.’ “
Someday, little Jaylee will read all about it.
Barthol began keeping the journal last year after he left the family at home in Schnecksville, Pa., and reported to spring training. She was seven months old then.
“She’s my first born and it was amazing the feeling I had in leaving,” said Barthol, who hasn’t been home since January. “It’s like a diary but it’s written to her. If something significant happens, good or bad, I write in it.”
Depending on what the doctors say, today’s chapter could be the most joyous or saddest of them all.
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