5/16/2011: Yuma, AZ – Nobody was within ten feet of the Louisville native as he slouched back in his corner of the locker room.  His teammates had patted him on the back as they had made their way down the tunnel from the field but knew it was time to leave him alone.  Celebratory noises could be heard coming from the Aurora locker room and cheers still reverberated around the stadium as fans made their way home, but as far as the Yuma pitcher was concerned it was the quietest place on Earth.

He’d tasted defeat before.  He’d tasted it way too often playing on a Yuma team that had the worst record in the PEBA by far.  He may have been born in Louisville, but Mark Cannon in his heart was Yuma born and bred.  He’d had off-field issues, and maybe that’s why teams elected not to give him a chance in the previous 63 rounds of the 2007 Inaugural Draft.  The Bulldozers had given him that chance, though, when they picked him in the 64^th round of the draft.

He’d hung around the minors early in his career, spending time firstly with the Calgary Stampede, the AA ball club in the Yuma farm system, then moving onto the Henderson Fighting Scots at AAA ball.  His first taste of the majors was in 2009, which, although not a great rookie season, was thought by many to be the start of a solid major league career.  It all turned into a nightmare during the offseason, though, when he was charged with drinking under the influence after assaulting his girlfriend.  He did 3 months jail time for it and was sent to the Kivalina Bowheads in SS-A.

He seemed to have turned it around and got another call to the majors in 2010 but, with an ERA of 7.34 hanging over him, things didn’t look too good for the 2011 season.  Things changed, though, when then-manager Jeff Ormon came up to him at the end of the season and invited him to stay at Ormon’s ranch in Canada during the offseason.  Ormon’s son and family also spent the summer at the ranch, and it’s down to this time that Cannon gives not only his change of outlook on life but his fortunes as a baseball player.

(Excerpt taken from an interview during Spring Training)

Hank McMullen – You’ve been throwing the ball better than you ever have during Spring Training.  Is there some reason behind it?

Mark Cannon – I haven’t changed my delivery or anything, if that’s what you mean, but things happened during the offseason that have changed my outlook on life in general, the manager asked me to spend sometime with him and his family up at his ranch in Canada.  Louise, his granddaughter, suffers from a rare bone disease and goes through so much pain but always had a smile on her face.  We got on like we’d been friends all our lives.  Anyway, I drew a strike zone on the inside of the barn on the wall and did some pitching.  Louise kind of became my pitching coach and I felt so at ease, and it’s carried over to Spring Training and hopefully will carry over to the season.

As he sat on the bench at his locker, he heard his mobile make a noise.  He looked at the message that had been sent and just smiled.  The pain of defeat flowed away.

The message?

“Smile.”
–Louise