STEPS ON THE MOUND –

Sept. 6, 2024 – ‘Greatest decision I’ve ever made’. Rawlings stitches “6/10/2020” into Lucas Erceg’s glove at the Kansas City Royals reliever’s request.

It’s the day Erceg got sober, so he welcomes the reminder of how lucky he is every time he takes the mound. Alcohol cost Erceg a promising baseball career at the University of California in Berkeley. He was an All-Pac-12 performer as a sophomore, a power-hitting corner infielder with an arm capable of throwing 100-mph heat.

Despite landing at tiny Menlo College, an NAIA baseball program at the time, Erceg was talented enough for the Milwaukee Brewers to spend a second-round pick on him.

He reached Class AAA in his second minor-league season, but regressed from there and the drinking never stopped as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

CONTINUE@KSHB