EX-MAJOR LEAGUE STAR ANSWERS HIGHER CALLING; DRAVECKY SPEAKS AT SOLD-OUT PRAYER BREAKFAST

Many Cape Girardeans had their first look at Dave Dravecky in October 1987.

The young left-handed pitcher for the San Francisco Giants appeared on the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of the National League Playoffs.

"I won that game, 5-0," said Dravecky. "I was facing one of the finest pitchers in the National League, John Tudor. I had a good day, gave up only two hits."

Dravecky later lost to Tudor in the fifth game of the playoffs, and the Giants lost the series to the Red Birds.

"I was disappointed," Dravecky told a Cape Girardeau crowd of more than 1,350 people who attended Friday's Sixth Annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at the Show Me Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. "But, I was flying high, and looking forward to a great year in 1988. I was feeling good and I was thinking in terms of a 20-win season."

But at the height of his career in 1988, a malignant tumor was discovered and removed from Dravecky's pitching arm,

"I wound up with cancer," Dravecky told the crowd. "I was told that I would never pitch again. This was devastating news to a young man who loves baseball like I do."

Dravecky staged a dramatic and unexpected comeback Aug. 10, 1989 - pitching a 4-3 victory over Cincinnati. But, the comeback was short-lived. Five days later, on Aug. 15, while pitching in Montreal, Dravecky's humerus bone snapped.

The tumor recurred, multiple treatments were unsuccessful, and amputation of his pitching arm was necessary in June 1991.

"My life has changed drastically over the past year," said Dravecky, whose story of inspiration and courage, and his trust in God, was the topic of the Friday Prayer Breakfast.

Prior to Dravecky's comments Cape Girardeau Mayor Francis E. ("Gene") Rhodes and Jackson Mayor Carlton Meyer welcomed the large crowd.

"It's great when people from several communities can all come together, put aside any petty differences and break bread," Rhodes said.

The event was sponsored by the Christian Business Men's Committee of Cape Girardeau.

Dravecky, a graduate of Youngstown (Ohio) State University who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in June 1978, remembers several memorable dates in his life: April 1981 when he was traded to the San Diego Padres; July 1983 when he pitched two innings in the major league All-Star game; October 1984 when he pitched in the World Series.

But one of the most important dates was 1981, after being traded to San Diego, when Dravecky met teammate Byron Ballard, who introduced him to the Bible.

"After being traded, I was sent to the Amarillo (Texas) farm club by the Padres," said Dravecky. "There, I met Ballard, a player who seemed to have an incredible joy about life and a wonderful, zany sense of humor.

"We talked about the Bible and its contents," said Dravecky. "Ballard didn't try to ram something down my throat. He talked about God. I listened and I started asking questions. Instead of answering them, he showed me answers in the Bible."

Dravecky said he already knew there was a God.

"I considered myself a Christian and I believed the Bible was God's word, but I hadn't read the Bible much."

It was during this time, Dravecky said, that he grew to learn the meaning of the phrase, "if you're born twice, you only die once."

Dravecky and his wife, Janice, made their commitment to God in 1981.

"That was one of the most important decisions in our lives," said Dravecky. "It has helped us in responding to my cancer without bitterness and anger."

Dravecky's cancer was detected in January 1988 when a lump was discovered on his pitching arm. On April 4, 1988, he was the winning pitcher against the Dodgers, 5-1, but two months later, he was sidelined due to arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.

He underwent surgery again in September 1988, during which half of the deltoid muscle in his pitching arm was removed. To kill the cancerous cells, part of the humerus bone was frozen.

"Doctors told me I would never pitch again," said Dravecky. "This was devastating for me. I had been playing baseball since I was seven years old."

Dravecky was determined. He did pitch again, winning two Class A games in July 1989 and a Class AAA game in August 1989 before being recalled to the majors for the Aug. 10 game against Cincinnati and his final game Aug. 15 against Montreal.

Dravecky and his wife have appeared many times at prayer breakfast meetings and on television. Dravecky has also written four books "Comeback" in 1990; "When You Can't Come Back," in 1992; "A Boy and his Baseball" and "Today's Heroes," both in 1992.

The Draveckys are parents of two children, Tiffany and Jonathan.

"A lot of people refer to my major league comeback on Aug. 10, 1989, as the miracle of the year, but I called it the miracle of 1981 when I discovered God and the Bible," said Dravecky. "There is no greater miracle than the miracle of life in Jesus Christ."

In closing, Dravecky reminded all people that "God is standing at the door of your heart, and should be let in.

"You have a challenge," he said. "It is heaven or hell. In choosing heaven you know you will have peace and contentment. As the Bible teaches in John 3:16, anyone who believes in Jesus will not perish but will have everlasting life."

"With him, I can face any adversity," said Dravecky, who urges people to study 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Stanley A. Grimm of Cape Girardeau, a judge with the Missouri Court of Appeals, served as master of ceremonies. Prayers were offered by Kent Puchbauer, executive vice president of Capital Bank; Greg Leet, Family Optometry; John Tlapek, president, Auto Tire and Parts; and Dr. Bill Terry, chairman of the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.

David Limbaugh, an attorney with Limbaugh, Russell, Payne & Howard, and Dr. Mark Kasten, Family Practice Specialty Center, provided the readings of the Old and New Testaments.