Will Carroll sent along this inspiring article on a high school pitcher coming back from open heart surgery:

A day after striking out 13 batters in only his second varsity start, Linden High School pitcher Frank Szczepanik, a 7-foot right-hander who has piqued the interest of professional scouts, underwent open-heart surgery to repair a life-threatening condition.

"He was on that afternoon and throwing well," Linden head coach Dan Mondelli said of Szczepanik's April 2006 outing. "He left us on a good note and then went and had his operation."

Mondelli, whose team finished with a disappointing 8-18 record last year, wished he had the services of his hard-throwing junior for the remainder of the campaign. In just nine innings of work, Szczepanik struck out 20 batters and boasted a 1.55 ERA.

"We are looking as a program to make a step this year," Mondelli said. "We feel that we are going to be much-improved. We've got a lot of kids who are excited about playing and Frank can be a big part of it."

The fact that Szczepanik, a walking time bomb a year ago, will even toe the rubber this spring is, in Mondelli's opinion, a miracle.

They split his sternum and repaired a genetically damaged aorta. They knew about the defect because his mom nearly died from the same thing. My uncle underwent open heart surgery in his early 50s. Afterward, when he coached little league, the youngsters would complain he threw like a girl. It was difficult for him to lift his arm to throw. The fact that this young man is back and pitching well amazes me. Please read the whole article.