Rockies pitcher Zach Day peeked down at his cast and grimaced.
He’s disappointed his season ended prematurely, frustrated he could not capitalize on a late-season audition. But after almost losing his sister Erin four months ago and watching helplessly as she awaits a kidney transplant, Day isn’t about to complain about plaster protecting his broken right thumb.
“There are bigger things going on,” Day said, “that are more important than my injury.”
Since May 22, Erin, 25, has occupied his thoughts. She was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital for an emergency C-section and delivered a baby girl that weighed just over 1 pound.
Both nearly died. Zach learned from a 4 a.m. phone call in Toronto that his sister was not doing well. Day arrived in his hometown the next day.
“I didn’t even recognize her because of the swelling,” Day recalled, “and my niece was the size of a Coke bottle.”
Day grew up in a tight-knit family and remains close to sisters Erin and 21-year-old Emily. He volunteered immediately to donate a kidney. For now, doctors would prefer a match from Day’s parents, thinking Erin will need another kidney during her lifetime.
“If they ask me then, I would immediately do it,” Day said. “I don’t care if I am still playing or not.”
Erin, who can’t wait to return to her job as a schoolteacher, is receiving four-hour dialysis treatments three times a week. Recently, her daughter, who is up to 7 pounds, went home. Day plans to join his family in Cincinnati on Friday, with his season – previously interrupted when a line drive broke his right wrist – in perspective.
“I am looking forward to a fresh start in spring training with the Rockies. I think this club has a chance to be really good,” Day said. “But right now, I can’t wait to see my sister and help out with the babysitting.”
Footnotes
Outfielder Jorge Piedra left the team to tend to a family matter. Friends on the team said Piedra’s wife was expecting a child. Manager Clint Hurdle did not elaborate, saying it was a “dire straits” issue. Piedra has established himself as one of the league’s best pinch hitters this season (15-for-33). … The Rangers broke the Rockies’ major-league record of 149 home runs at home, set in 1996, by one with five Sunday at Ameriquest Field. “Those guys have power and that’s a great place to hit,” former Ranger Todd Greene said.
