Sims' dream gone in an instant

It was only one pitch. And it was a waste pitch at that.

But the only resulting waste from that high and tight fastball was that Ron Sims would never see his career reach fruition. For that matter, he would never see with his left eye again.

Napoleon Robinson's 0-2 offering slammed into Sims' skull, costing him his eye and what appeared to be a very promising career. But what that pitch, so innocuous when it left Robinson's hand nearly two decades ago, couldn't do was take away Sims' perspective.

Now 37, a husband and father of four, Sims has spent much of his adult life working in a chemical plant in Mobile, Ala. He never got to play first base for the Braves, never got to participate in their dozen years of dominance. Rather, he watched Atlanta become a steamroller in the National League from his living room, regaling his children with tales of what might have been.

"I don't hold any grudges," Sims said. "I'm just happy the Braves took a chance on me. Not many guys had the opportunity I had. I just wish everyone could feel that way, have the feeling of it [playing pro ball]. It sticks with you and I can always look back and say I made it part of the way. I just happened to come to a crossroad.

"My kids have asked a lot of questions about it. I tell them it wasn't intentional. It [baseball] was something I enjoyed doing. But you have to take the good along with the bad."

In Sims' case, there was so much good, so much promise. He wasn't drafted after his junior year of high school, though he was eligible. He had turned 19 two weeks after the cutoff date, causing him to forfeit his eligibility during his senior season. Sims hit a Satsuma High School-record .487 in 1988. That remains the school record, as do the 12 home runs he hit that season. He also had 41 RBIs in 24 games, leading his team to a state title.

"Ronald was not that big," Satsuma coach Mike Szymanski said. "He was developed from the waist up but looked like an average player. But from the waist down, he looked like an oak tree. He had tremendous legs and he would use them to generate so much bat speed. He hit balls in games and batting practice like no other player.

"He hit some ungodly shots in games. There was one game in particular that the first three times up he hit homers and they had to walk him the next time up. And after 19 years, he still holds the school records."

Sims grew up a Reds fan, closely following the careers of players like Johnny Bench and Ken Griffey Sr. He wanted to be a ballplayer for as long as he could remember, spending hours watching and talking about the game with his father, Jerome. Though Sims played some football in high school, it was clear on what career path his talents would take him.

The Braves scouted him, though not as closely had they known he was draft eligible. Still, Sims was aware of Atlanta's interest enough to attend a tryout camp two weeks after the draft at the University of South Alabama. Again, he impressed the scouts and signed a deal that included a $5,000 bonus.

Sims was assigned to Atlanta's Gulf Coast League affiliate in Bradenton, Fla. It seemed as if a career had been born.

"I was on cloud nine when I found out that someone really wanted to take a chance on me," Sims said. "Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted to be was a ballplayer. I had two weeks of camp until I made my debut. I was a pretty good first baseman, but they had me at DH that game."

That game took place on June 20, 1988. Sims, young, eager and ready to prove himself worthy of a professional contract, had spent the previous two weeks working out at extended Spring Training with Atlanta's coaching staff. A switch-hitting slugger, the Braves tinkered with his stance, opening it to a point where Sims didn't feel comfortable.

Yet he accepted their advice, not wanting to be a problem. Had he spoken up, mentioned that he wasn't comfortable, things might have been different. But Sims kept quiet and ultimately, it may have contributed to what happened that day.

"I guess they thought I could get the inside pitch by changing my stance," Sims said. "I was taught to respect my elders and do what they say, and that's what I did. They changed my stance and it was kind of awkward for me. I hadn't yet adapted to getting out of the way when the ball was in tight and I stepped, the ball hit me in the eye."

Sims had gone 0-for-2 in his first two professional at-bats before stepping to the plate in the seventh inning against Robinson, who also was making his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Dodgers. Sims took the first pitch and swung and missed at the second before Robinson's heater changed his life. The pitch smashed his eye and the bones around it, breaking his nose as well.

"My ball kind of runs a little and it ran in on him," Robinson said. "It just kind of got away. It was tough."

Sims went down but never lost consciousness. He was frightened but couldn't see, only hearing the commotion around him. Team trainers packed his face in ice, and he was transported to a local hospital. Sims went home a week later as it became apparent he would not regain sight in his left eye.

His right eye still had 20-20 vision but could have begun to experience "sympathy" problems, so it was decided to have what remained of his left eye removed. Sims said he tried to talk the doctors into letting him keep his eye, but there was no chance of that happening. He underwent surgery 10 days after being hit and had a glass eye inserted that October.

"I really didn't know the severity of it until I got back to Mobile," Sims said. "The doctor told me I had to have the surgery. I had just turned 19 and it was a crushing blow to have something that I always dreamed of doing go down like that. There were a lot of mixed emotions, but I coped with it.

"After the surgery, it was very painful. It hurt a lot after the numbness wore off. After it first happened, I had dreams where I saw the pitch coming. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It was something where I desperately tried to get to that point, and it all ends."

Sims and Robinson have never spoken. Robinson went to the hospital the day after the beaning, but Sims was sedated. He spoke with some of Sims' family members and says everyone understood the incident wasn't intentional.

At first, the loss of an eye did little to deter Sims from pursuing his career. He wanted to continue playing, hitting left-handed full-time. He said he went to the batting cages just to prove to himself he could still hit, but his insurance company wouldn't cover him if he attempted a comeback.

The Braves did what they could for Sims, offering him a job as a clubhouse attendant in Bradenton. He accepted and stayed on for a few days, but being around the team and not being able to play proved too painful. He accepted a modest settlement from Atlanta and returned to Mobile, where he found work while satiating his desire to play baseball on area sandlot teams.

Robinson pitched for nearly seven seasons in the Minor Leagues, reaching the Triple-A level after getting traded to the Braves, before retiring. He is currently a baseball instructor at a sports academy in Georgia.

"God had something else for me to do," Sims said. "I came to grips with it, went to work and made a family. I never felt any resentment toward the guy who hit me, but I do ask sometime why I didn't get a second chance.

"The Braves gave me a settlement. It wasn't worth my eye, but it was something. Now I just try to pass something on to my kids and other kids, giving them a little something so they know what I went through. I like to teach them here and there."

Sims has missed out on a great deal over the last two decades, seeing his dream die quickly. But he's not bitter and he makes sure his children know that. He has kept things in perspective, seeing the bigger picture, figuratively if not always literally.