Emil DeAndreis pitched for the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 2005-08, and though his numbers were pedestrian (2-2, 5.43 ERA), his journey since then has been anything but average.
DeAndreis went through the high of receiving a professional baseball contract (in Belgium) and the low of being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – the career-ender was a disease, not an injury, he’s is quick to point out – all in the same month.
While one dream ended, another is still very much alive. DeAndreis chronicled his “roller-coaster” journey in “Hard to Grip,” his second book, which was named as one of the “Top 25 Books of the Summer” by Honolulu Magazine.
These days, the 31-year-old is an English teacher at the College of San Mateo in Northern California, and he remains actively involved with the game he loves as a high school baseball coach.
DeAndreis took time for a question-and-answer session via email with the Tribune-Herald:
Q: What did you enjoy the most about playing baseball?
A: I loved the competition, the challenge of being on the mound and facing off against someone one on one. I loved the brotherhood that developed over seasons of triumph and defeat and all the practices and workouts and bus rides in between. Baseball is such a nice balance of excitement and downtime, and both compliment each other so well.
Q. Who do you contribute all your hard work and success too?
A: I was just talking to my dad about this the other day. All my life I’ve heard people say ‘Oh I hated this coach’ or ‘that coach sucked.’ And for whatever reason, I was always lucky enough to get along with all of my coaches. I didn’t hold grudges against them when I sat the bench and they never jumped down my throat after a bad game or anything. This is probably a big reason why I loved the game so much; I had coaches who made it easy to.
Q. What made playing baseball in Hawaii so special to you?
A: I dedicate a lot of time in my book to articulating just how special baseball in Hawaii was. The temperature at first pitch during night games, the buzz of the stadium lights, the purple clouds in the distance – everything took on a surreal, dreamlike quality. Plus, the humidity weighed the ball down, so that meant less home runs. I don’t even want to know what my ERA would’ve looked like without that humidity on my side.
Q. What do you think contributed to your injury and what message do you have for youth players?
A: Rheumatoid arthritis is not an injury. Nothing caused it. It is an autoimmune condition which means your body invents the disease. Your immune system wakes up one morning and suddenly thinks its own body is the enemy, and starts attacking itself. It is a perplexing condition, and at times, very frustrating. Receiving a professional contract to pitch in Europe, then getting this disease, in the same month, was quite a roller-coaster.
Q. Explain the importance of good education and staying out of trouble?
A: Most jobs require a degree these days, plus school was always fun for me; I met my best friends, had good relationships with my teachers. School doesn’t have to be a prison if you don’t let it. If you read my book, I’m sure you’ll agree I’m not really the poster boy for the virtues of staying out of trouble.
Q. What led you to write your book?
A: When I got my disease I was faced with the challenge of finding a new passion. I was used to being on the baseball diamond for hours a day, and suddenly I could hardly move. Writing became one of the only things I could do without discomfort, and I thought the idea of a young, competitive man living in an old woman’s body would be an interesting topic to explore.
Q. Describe the impact your arm injury and what was your reaction to not being able to pitch again.
A: Again, it was not an arm injury, but a disease. I needed something to occupy my mind the way baseball once had. I’d spent my life committed to baseball, and without it, I worried my mind would go to a bad place with the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. So I went through a time of bitterness and resentment, and I tried to ax baseball out of my life, but that only lasted so long. The game was too important to me, too much a part of me. So I began to write.
Q. What is life like after baseball?
A: Not bad at all. I write, I watch and coach baseball. If you really love the game, there’s no way you can live without it. I learned that the hard way, but the result was a relationship with the game much deeper than it ever was when I was a player.
Q. Does throwing curveballs at a young age contribute to stress on the elbow and arm injuries?
A: Yes. Kids are starting to pitch in games younger and younger now. Travel ball has made it so baseball is essentially year round, giving arms (especially pitchers’ arms) a dangerous lack of rest time. And yes, too many coaches call too many curve balls in games, especially travel ball tournaments. There’s upside for kids to be exposed to high levels of competition; the learning curve is quicker, skills are honed. But a big, irreversible consequence is arm health.
Q. What was the best moment or memory you made in your lifetime playing baseball?
A: I don’t have one. I’ve had a lot of different stages throughout my time with baseball. I loved pitching in city championships at AT&T Park in San Francisco and dog-piling on the mound after a complete game win. I loved pitching in Hilo and swimming at Richardson’s the next day to stretch my arm out. I love coaching kids now and working so that they can have a college experience like mine should they want it. And as you can see, and as my latest book proves, I love any opportunity to write about the game.
Editor’s note: Fujii, a senior at Waiakea High, is an intern at the Tribune-Herald
