Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Pitching second nature, despite player’s disability

Student’s hard work, not physical traits, what people notice first

Mark Gederos

Steve Marcus

Mark Gederos, a pitcher on the Arbor View High School baseball team, is shown during practice at the school Thursday, March 17, 2011. Gederos is successful as a player despite only having a finger and thumb on his right hand and a prosthetic right foot.

Mark Gederos

Mark Gederos, a pitcher on the Arbor View High School baseball team, warms up in the bullpen during practice at the school Thursday, March 17, 2011. Gederos is successful as a player despite only having a finger and thumb on his right hand and a prosthetic right foot. Launch slideshow »

Arbor View High School pitcher Mark Gederos raced off the pitcher’s mound to field a slow ground ball. He made the play look easy, spinning toward first base and throwing out the Bonanza High baserunner by a few steps to preserve his team’s victory.

The play, routine for most pitchers, was anything but for 17-year-old Gederos. He was born without the ring, middle and index finger on his right hand, and his right foot was amputated as an infant because it had two toes and was structured incorrectly.

He is fitted with a prosthetic foot, which slows him while running but provides flexibility and movement. He throws and catches with his left hand, quickly switching his glove from its resting spot on his right hand to the fielding position on his left.

The process appears difficult. For Gederos, it’s second nature.

“He bounces off the mound just as quick as everyone else, switches his gloves, and you really don’t think twice about it,” Arbor View coach Chris Martinez said. “It’s just a natural thing for him in that spot.”

The players and coaches in the opposing dugout clapped when Gederos snagged the ground ball, which he humbly acknowledges as a nice gesture. It just wasn’t necessary.“I’m just like every other kid out here,” Gederos said. “I just keep going and playing because nothing has ever held me back.”

When Gederos arrived for offseason conditioning this winter, he fit in so well with the other athletes that Martinez didn’t realize he wore a prosthetic foot. Then, after observing him fall behind one afternoon in a drill, the coach pulled him aside and asked if he was hurt. Because of the prosthetic, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Gederos runs with a slight limp.

“He is going to do everything the other (players) do,” Martinez said. “He has never once used it as an excuse. The only thing he has really asked for is to make sure we treat him like everyone else because he is.”

Click to enlarge photo

Mark Gederos, a pitcher on the Arbor View High School baseball team, runs during practice at the school Thursday, March 17, 2011. Gederos is successful as a player despite only having a finger and thumb on his right hand and a prosthetic right foot.

Gederos is a lifelong baseball player, learning to throw and catch with the same hand at an early age. He played as a freshman and sophomore at Cheyenne High, sat out as a junior and joined Arbor View’s team this spring after transferring.

He’s a reliable pitcher out of the bullpen, recording four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of work in two appearances. His fastball doesn’t have as much velocity as some of Arbor View’s other pitchers, but he’s able to get batters out because of his accuracy. He also throws a curve ball when he is ahead in the count. He’s a right-handed batter and hit a home run during his freshman season, but isn’t expected to receive many at-bats.

“Mark is a guy who will take the ball whenever you ask,” said Kevin Kohler, Arbor View’s pitching coach. “He doesn’t have real nasty stuff, but he throws to spots. He’s not scared. That is what I like about him. He’s like a little bulldog on the mound for us.

“The biggest thing that happens with kids when they go from the bullpen to the game is they get tense with the fear of failure. He doesn’t have that.”

Gederos doesn’t look at his never-say-quit attitude as being fearless. Rather, he’s just like the other baseball players around town in getting the most out of the high school experience through athletics. The perceived disability — he never uses that word — hasn’t stopped Gederos from living his athletic dreams.

After having his foot amputated, doctors warned he might have problems walking. But, with the help of the prosthetic foot, he began walking at the same time as other children.

“I do everything my hardest to fulfill all of my dreams and expectations,” he said.

And those expectations have always been high.

Click to enlarge photo

Mark Gederos, a pitcher on the Arbor View High School baseball team, warms up in the bullpen as pitching coach Kevin Kohler looks on during practice at the school Thursday, March 17, 2011. Gederos is successful as a player despite only having a finger and thumb on his right hand and a prosthetic right foot.

He played tennis while at Cheyenne, earned a 4.0 GPA last semester, bench presses an impressive 315 pounds (remember, he only weighs 165) and has a part-time job as a clerk at a real estate office.

“He’s a very driven and motived child all by himself,” Martinez said.

Gederos hopes to play baseball next year in college and aspires to reach the big leagues. His idol is former professional pitcher Jim Abbott, who played 10 seasons in the big leagues although he was born without a right hand. Abbott, like Gederos, threw and caught with his left hand.

“I look up to him,” he said of Abbott. “I want to do what he did and go pitch in the majors, and do everything the right way.”

Talk with his teammates at Arbor View and they will confirm Gederos is doing everything the right way. He’s considered one of the team’s hardest workers and has a reputation for being someone others can count on ­— on and off the field.

“He’s inspirational for us all,” Arbor View catcher Brandon LaPointe said. “Watching him compete reminds me that I can push harder. If he’s doing it with a prosthetic, we all can do great things.”

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