Matt LaChappa during his playing days.
The San Diego Padres made a series of stunning offseason acquisitions, including trades for Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel, Wil Myers and Justin Upton and the free-agent signing of starter James Shields. But one under-the-radar minor-league contract might be the team’s best move of all.
At the O.C. Register, Steve Bisheff shares the sad story of Matt LaChappa, a former Padres prospect from the Barona Indian Reservation, just east of San Diego. LaChappa suffered a heart attack while warming up in the bullpen for a start in Class A Rancho Cucumonga in 1996 and is now confined to a wheelchair, but the Padres have renewed his basic minor league contract every season, in part so he can have access to health insurance.
The whole article is well worth your time. An excerpt:
“What happened just devastated so many people,” (Former Padres director of minor league operations Priscilla Oppenheimer) says. “Matt was looked up to by everyone in the community. When he signed, about half the tribe came in for the ceremony.
“He’s a great kid. He is confined to a wheelchair, has trouble communicating and is barely able to hold a spoon. But his mind is still as sharp as ever. He has an incredible sense of humor and is just a joy to be around.”…
The Padres have renamed a Little League Park they helped renovate in Lakeside. It’s now called Matt LaChappa Field. They’ve invited him to be honored at Petco Park, where they wheeled him out to the mound and he could watch his brother throw out the first pitch.
Again, check out the rest of the article. The original article is from 2005, but USA TODAY Sports confirmed on Tuesday through LaChappa’s brother, Eagle, that the pitcher again signed his annual deal with the Padres for 2015.
“Nowadays, everybody talks about the statistics in baseball, and how it has all become a numbers game,” Eagle LaChappa said by phone. “But the Padres have been pretty special to him. They’ve said he’ll be a Padre for the rest of his life, and they’ve allowed him to keep a certain level of care.”
Eagle LaChappa said that Matt watches the Padres regularly, and that “he loves when they win and hates when they lose.” The family has a relationship with equipment manager Tony Petricca, who helps arrange their visits to Petco Park.
The professional baseball world can be a cold and ruthless place, especially for players who never make good on their big-league dreams. Good for the Padres for taking care of one of their own so long after his pitching days are over.
(An earlier version of this post noted that LaChappa’s collapse came in 1995. It was before his first start in April, 1996. Thanks to Reddit for calling our attention to this story.)
