The Back Alley Archives

A little more than five months ago, Brandon McArthur sat in Tony and Bertha Saladino's living room pigging out on beans and rice, green bean casserole, cookies, cake and pie. Tucked in the corner was a triple-decker trophy given annually by the Saladinos, proclaiming the Armwood High senior the year's outstanding player on the field, in the classroom and in the community in Hillsborough County.

He repeatedly was asked about his future. Would he sign with the Minnesota Twins, who had drafted him in the fifth round the month before? Was he going to play for the University of Florida?

McArthur smiled that toothy smile that has won people over since he was a youngster just starting out in baseball and gave the same response. He said he was torn but called it a "win-win situation."

A full scholarship to Florida to play for what is perennially one of the best college teams in the nation? Sign with the Twins and make the jump to professional baseball as an 18-year-old with a likely signing bonus in the neighborhood of $200,000?

He chose UF, joining the Gators for fall practice. He played shortstop, worked on his hitting and created some excitement among the coaches for what he might be able to do this spring.

Driving in runs. Great plays. A home run here and there. McArthur was on his way.

Thursday afternoon, Florida coach Pat McMahon was praising McArthur some more. But the achievements were much different.

"He's making good progress," McMahon said. "He's eating solid foods. A little at a time."

Baby steps are what McArthur is judged on these days. Sitting up in bed, eating solid food, squeezing family members' hands as a means of communication.

It's a long way from trying to answer baseball trivia questions with his mouth full of cheesecake in June. It also is a long way from where he was Oct. 30 at 1:55 a.m.

That's when, police say, McArthur's path crossed that of Jonathan Aaron Head, a 23-year-old former University of Florida student.

According to police records, McArthur and a teammate were leaving the Grog House Bar and Grill on W University Avenue when he was punched in the head just outside the door. McArthur, who was knocked unconscious, hit the back of his head on a wall then the front of his head on the sidewalk.

Head was arrested six days later, charged with felony battery with great bodily harm. He had been in the bar during the evening, but according to witnesses and Gainesville police, the attack was unprovoked. Police called it a "random act of violence."

Head has been in trouble before. In Manatee County, he has been charged with offenses ranging from passing bad checks to burglary and battery in 1999, when he was a University of Florida student. He was sentenced to two years' probation, forced to apologize to the victim in court, ordered to serve 100 hours of community service and attend one day of anger management counseling.

While Head sat in a jail cell this month, McArthur was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He had undergone two operations to remove blood clots from his skull and brain and slowly was being brought out of a drug-induced coma.

Immediately after the attack, Valerie and Earl Bullock, McArthur's mother and stepfather, made the two-hour drive from Tampa not knowing what they would find. McArthur's father, Steve, left his job at a Ford plant in Michigan to fly to Florida.

Almost three weeks later, the three continue to live in a Gainesville hotel. Aside from a statement they released just after the attack, they have kept a low profile. Armwood baseball coach Joey Fernandez has been acting as the family's liaison. Through him, the family declined to be interviewed for this article.

About two weeks after the assault, McArthur began squeezing family members' hands to communicate. Not long after that, he was sitting up in bed and beginning to eat solid food.

His 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame is thinner and weaker, but Mc-Arthur was moved Thursday to the rehabilitation area of the hospital. Doctors and therapists there work with patients on speech and regaining physical control of their bodies.

Fernandez, who coached McArthur for four years, has traveled to Gainesville at least eight times since the attack, including some days when he was forced to miss his teaching duties at Armwood.

His experience with McArthur leads him to believe the player's inner strength will enable him to overcome what he faces. "I think that it would be great if he had the same personality," Fernandez said. "Will he play baseball again? Knowing him, he'll probably be playing before people realize it. You never know, he may be in a Gators uniform this spring."

Back in a uniform is where everyone wants McArthur to be.

Since the attack, McArthur's hospital room has been inundated with cards, gifts and phone calls.

Every baseball coach in Hillsborough sent his best wishes. Florida Southern College, which didn't even recruit McArthur out of high school because there was little chance of landing him, sent a gift basket.

McMahon visits every chance he gets. Though McArthur had been a Gator only through intrasquad scrimmages this fall, teammates have rallied by his side.

Everybody has hopes. They want him to play baseball again. They want him to get back on a field someday.

More than anything, they want Brandon back. The grin. The sense of humor and the air of confidence that all 18-year-olds have but he seemed to perfect.

"We want Brandon to be Brandon," Fernandez said.

Brandon McArthur might be enjoying the College World Series a little more than any of his Florida teammates. Maybe as much as any player who's ever been here.

That's because his journey to picturesque Rosenblatt Stadium has been a lot longer and much more demanding than most.

"I never thought I would have a chance to come here," McArthur says. "Being able to play the game after what I've been though, it's unbelievable."

Nearly 20 months ago McArthur lay bleeding in Gainesville, Fla., after a man sucker-punched him outside of a bar and he slammed his head on the sidewalk.

Doctors worked to save McArthur's life, but two surgeries were needed and he lost five percent of his brain. What followed were long hours of rehab to re-learn motor skills and build his body back.

Now, he's in college baseball's ultimate showcase, striving for a national championship just a year after his primary pursuit was a normal life.

Baseball, though, was always a driving force.

"It's remarkable. He almost had his life taken from him and now he can go out and play and be a vital part of our team," said Gator teammate Jeff Corsaletti, who was with McArthur the night of Oct. 30, 2003, when he was attacked.

McArthur's recovery has been faster than anyone could imagine, but it's still ongoing.

"When I first got to the hospital, to see him laying there in that bed, it freaked me out at first. And then I knew it was out of my hands," said his mother, Valerie Bullock.

"I knew Brandon's will and his passion. I knew the doctors would put him back together and he would be back on the field. But did I believe he would be back as soon as he has? No way."

McArthur was a fifth-round pick by the Minnesota Twins after high school, but with his mom's urging he went to Florida instead.

"Brandon really wanted to go in the draft," Bullock said. "I pushed him to go to college and two months later he comes within an hour of losing his life. That decision really haunted me."

On the night that changed McArthur's life, he was punched by Jonathan Head, a former Florida student he never knew. Head was later sentenced to a one-year jail term, with house arrest and probation to follow.

McArthur still doesn't know why it happened.

"I don't remember anything, stuff before the incident I didn't remember. I didn't remember some of my teammates' names and stuff like that," McArthur said.

"In the hospital I thought I was in Atlanta for a summer baseball tournament."

Therapy at a rehab unit followed two weeks in the hospital. After his release, he underwent intense sessions with a trainer to get his body back in shape, regain his weight - he'd dropped more than 30 pounds - and increase his strength.

He was forced to redshirt his first season at Florida but did play summer baseball a year ago, even though he needed another surgery after a blackout.

"You know what type of kid he is. He's a fighter," Corsaletti said.

McArthur played in 58 games for Florida and made 54 starts this season, batting .274 and homering against archrival Florida State in the super regional. He also started the Gators' first three games in the College World Series, going 1-for-12.

The Gators were set to play Arizona State on Thursday night for the right to play Texas in the championship series beginning Saturday.

While McArthur's baseball skills have mostly returned, some things might never be the same.

His sense of taste is gone and is ability to smell is very limited.

"I can't smell anything unless I get real close to something that's real strong like a foul-smelling garbage can," McArthur said with a laugh.

How difficult is it to eat when you can't taste what's on the plate?

"I try to remember what it used to taste like," he said.

For sure, he knows what baseball is all about again. Feeling the sun on his neck and the sweat on his jersey helps compensate for the other losses.

And maybe someday he will be drafted again. Right now, winning the College World Series and soaking up the experience is what matters.

"He has a better value on life than he did before the incident happened," his mom said.

"It's been very emotional. It has been all along throughout everything," McArthur said. "This is what my family wanted me to do when I came to college."