40,000 to One (Volume 1)
A native of Hillsboro, OR, Ben Petrick was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the second round of the 1995 draft. He was rated as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball from 1997-1999, when he started at catcher in the All-Star Futures Game at Fenway Park alongside Josh Hamilton, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Mulder and Lance Berkman. That September, Petrick was called to the Major Leagues, finishing the season hitting .323 with 4 HR and 12 RBI in just 19 games. Ben experienced his first symptoms of Parkinson's disease in Fall 1999, and was diagnosed with "Parkinsonism" in May 2000. Ben still managed to play four more big-league seasons for the Rockies and Detroit Tigers, while largely keeping his diagnosis a secret. Ben experienced more on-field success in 2000, hitting .322 with 3 HR and 20 RBI in 52 games; however, his performance started to slide in 2001, and he was traded to Detroit in mid-2003. Only when he retired in 2004 did he announce publicly that he had Parkinson's disease — the same disease with which his father, Vern, had been diagnosed just seven months prior to Ben. Ben returned to Hillsboro, marrying longtime girlfriend Kellie Starkey, and moved onto the same street where his parents and brother lived. He eventually became primary daytime caregiver to his daughter, Makena, while Kellie taught third grade. With his Parkinson's symptoms growing worse, in December 2009 Ben elected to undergo a risky and invasive procedure known as Deep Brain Stimulation. Infection that resulted from the surgery nearly killed him. Still, Ben courageously underwent the surgery a second time a year later, this time emerging with miraculous results, as his Parkinson's symptoms were lessened to a great degree. Today, Ben is again active in baseball, coaching at Glencoe High and providing private instruction. He is an advocate for Parkinson's research, traveling the country to speak at various events that benefit the cause. Ben is also founder of Faith In The Game (www.faithinthegame.tumblr.com), a blog containing written submissions by prominent athletes of faith. He lives in Hillsboro with his wife and two daughters.