Dave Dravecky has left two indelible images in the minds of baseball fans
worldwide. The first was August 10, 1989, when Dravecky triumphantly pitched a
4-3 win for the San Francisco Giants in his first major league game following
cancer surgery. The second was five days later in Montreal, Canada, when a loud
crack was heard in the stadium, and Dravecky was suddenly lying on the mound
withering in pain from a broken arm. As Chuck Swindoll writes, "... he had
delivered the pitch heard around the world."
Dravecky's victorious return to baseball is chronicled in his award winning
book, Comeback, which has sold more than 300,000 copies. Two months after he
broke his arm in Montreal, Dravecky's arm was broken again while celebrating
the Giant's National League Championship Series victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The cancer had returned, and Dravecky retired from professional baseball in
November 1989.
Additional surgeries and the recurring cancer finally led to the drastic
amputation of Dravecky's left arm, shoulder blade and left side of his
collarbone. In the book, When You Can't Comeback, Dave describes his loss.
With the amputation of his arm, Dave was stripped of his sense of identity and
the worth he derived from it. He was propelled on a grueling journey to search
for answers to questions every man must face: What gives a man identity and
value? Is a man's merit deeper than what he has and does?
Dravecky is in great demand as a speaker, addressing a wide variety of
audiences across the country. His messages range from motivational to
inspirational. Through his experience, he addresses loss and suffering, faith,
encouragement and hope, reaching out to others and saying goodbye to the past.
Comeback -
Dave's dramatic story of becoming a major league pitcher, undergoing
career-ending cancer surgery and then making a triumphant return to the
pitching mound.
When You Can't Come Back -
The personal journey of Dave and Jan Dravecky as they learned the value of
suffering.
The Worth of a Man -
Dave explores what gives a person value after he has "lost it all."
