ST. LOUIS — On March 9, 2021, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon released a book that he began writing more than two years ago.
It's a story of hope, faith and baseball called “One Line Drive.”
“When we were talking with publishers, one of them said, ‘How about One Line Drive?’” Ponce de Leon said. “And then we were like, ‘Why?’ And they mentioned that the street that Iowa’s field was on is One Line Drive. And we thought, ‘Wow, how ironic.’”
The story begins four years ago in Des Moines, Iowa, when Ponce de Leon took the mound as the starting pitcher for the Cardinals’ Triple A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, on May 9, 2017.
“From 2014 to 2017 I had to fight my way up through the minor leagues with ups and downs in there,” Ponce de Leon said. “And finally made it up there in 2017, and was having a real good year and was on track to hopefully pitch in the big leagues that season.”
He was two innings into a game against the Iowa Cubs when a pitch to Cubs’ catcher Victor Caratini changed his life forever.
Caratini hit a line drive, which hit Ponce de Leon in the side of his head. He was unconscious for a brief amount of time, before waking up and feeling relatively normal.
Ponce de Leon was rushed to a nearby hospital when the situation went downhill.
He underwent emergency brain surgery, which took more than four hours to complete. Ponce de Leon’s parents, and now-wife Jenn, were contacted and told that he may not make it out of surgery alive.
“What they did is pretty much they removed a chunk of my skull, stopped the bleeding as much as they could, and hopefully the pressure would die down to where they could replace the skull to put it back on,” Ponce de Leon said. “Which it did, so they were able to do that. And they also stuck in a pressure monitor, and a drain really to drain the blood out so I wouldn’t have to go back in for surgery.”
Luckily, Ponce de Leon woke up, and was able to speak without an issue. He looked at it as a second chance at life.
“When I ended up finding out about it, I was like, ‘Really? That could’ve happened to me?’” Ponce de Leon said. “And when I finally did find out that I could’ve died, I thought about my soul. Like what would’ve happened to it? So along with my physical recovery, I did some spiritual recovery as well.”
Both the Redbirds and Cubs teams visited Ponce de Leon in the hospital following the game.
“John Mozeliak, the Cardinals’ president, he paid for all our expenses including the surgery,” Ponce de Leon said. “Ya know, I was in the hospital bed, and fans who were at the game, moms, dads, kids sent me cards. I had packages of cards. Ya know, it’s a whole big family. Like people actually cared, and I didn’t think anyone cared. I’m just a minor league kid, ya know, that got hurt. Everyone cared all the sudden, ya know, and that’s what really softened my heart. Like everyone actually cared? Why?”
It was at this moment that he chose to make changes internally and externally in his life.
“From that point on, I was going to do everything in my physical power to put myself in a position to compete again,” Ponce de Leon said. “And the Lord allowed that, and he strengthened me all through the way.”
After passing multiple tests to be released from the hospital’s ICU, Ponce de Leon made a full physical recovery in just three months.
He returned to the mound in the Arizona fall ball league four months after the surgery, and didn’t miss a beat.
On July 23, 2018, Ponce de Leon made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals, with a new perspective.
He threw a no-hitter through seven innings, before being pulled from the mound.
Ponce de Leon became just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to do so in his major league debut since 1961.
“I would say that like that game was the most peaceful game I’ve ever pitched in,” Ponce de Leon said. “Nothing could phase me. I felt as calm as I could be, ya know.”
The plot of the story takes place on a baseball field, but the theme is about how his heart, mindset and marriage were changed forever.
“I didn’t know how to love,” Ponce de Leon said. “No idea. My wife’s love language is different than what mine would be. So there was a lot of learning for me to do in the word of love.”
He developed a strong faith that made all the difference.
“Relationship-wise you just learn how to be better.” Ponce de Leon said. “And like I said, just everything through love really. It just made me grow and become a man that my wife needed.”
In 2019, Ponce de Leon decided to put this experience on paper. He would call it “One Line Drive.”
“When I get to go and read through like the emotions, and like it makes me sad,” Ponce de Leon said. “My dad how he just had to like go on his knees and pray.”
And now he’s sharing this story with the world, with the hope of impacting the lives of others.
“If I could save one soul,” Ponce de Leon said. “One soul that comes back to God, you know. That would be, that’s all I need.”