Zach Levine has an excellent article on Tri-City catcher (and Houston native) Chris Wallace.
Tri-City manager Jim Pankovits:
"He's been a huge addition helping our pitchers down the stretch, which is the single most important reason why we're where we're at. He's way ahead of the curve as far as his game-calling and his rapport with the pitching staff."
Recounting his incident with Barret Loux, in which Loux broke Wallace's sinus cavity, cheekbone, and eye socket, Wallace missed a month. One month.
"For the four weeks I had to sit at home doing nothing, I was sitting there wondering if I was going to play again. But in the back of my mind, I just knew I had to stay mentally tough about it and not let it get to me and affect me. ...Some days it was really tough to be positive, but I just tried to be really positive about it."
To put this in perspective. I broke my big toe kicking a chair in glee after the United States beat Algeria in June, and haven't got on the treadmill since. Chris Wallace is tougher than I am.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
