The only that has stopped Mark Samuelson during his hot start to the season has been kidney stones.
The Wild Things' first baseman/designated hitter is batting .444 after his 4-for-4 game Sunday in Washington's 7-1 victory over the Southern Illinois Miners. Samuelson had three extra-base hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Samuelson was one of the few Washington hitters who had a good season-opening series against Schaumburg. He was 4-for-11 with two doubles, and hit safely and had one RBI in each game against the Boomers.
Shortly after the Wild Things made the bus trip from Schaumburg to Rockford on May 19, Samuelson began experiencing intense pain in his back. It was first thought to be back spasms and Samuelson received electronic stimulation as treatment. That only made the pain worse.
"I never had a more intense pain in my life," Samuelson said.
So Samuelson was shuttled off to a Rockford hospital, where he was diagnosed with a kidney stone.
He spent a few hours in the hospital, was given pain medication and sent back to the hotel.
Samuelson said the pain medication did little to ease the pain, which was so intense that he didn't go to the ballpark to watch his teammates the first two days of the Rockford series. Instead of going to watch the Wild Things win last Tuesday morning, Samuelson called a cab and went back to the hospital.
On Wednesday, the final night of the series, Samuelson spent time in the radio booth with WJPA's Randy Gore, and continued to drink a lot of water, hoping that would cause the stone to pass.
Finally, during the bus trip back to Washington, Samuelson said he passed the stone. If you've ever had a kidney stone (you have my sympathy because I've had four bouts with kidney stones), then you know that once the stone is passed you feel 100 percent almost immediately.
Wild Things manager Bart Zeller, himself a multi-time kidney stone sufferer, opted to play it safe and not rush Samuelson back into the lineup. He gave the lefty hitter Friday night off. Against Southern Illinois on Saturday night, Samuelson was 0-for-3, then had the huge game Sunday.
Samuelson, who is from Lake Forest, Calif., was acquired in the purge of the London Rippers last July and played 36 games with Washington, batting .250 with two home runs and 19 RBI. The batting average did sit well with Samuelson, who hit .376 while playing in the independent and now-defunct Golden League in 2010, his first season of professional baseball. Samuelson has a career batting average of .303.
"Last year, I started off well, then I had a big slump in the middle of the season," Samuelson said.
The slumped ended when Samuelson made an adjustment to his swing -- he went from tapping his right foot twice before starting his swing to using a leg kick -- and it paid dividends immediately. The first night he tried the leg kick, Samuelson hit two home runs at Florence. They were the only home runs he hit with the Wild Things last year.
Samuelson closed the season on a 12-for-26 roll and hit safely in each of the final seven games. He continued that roll this season, though Zeller said there might have been a time when Samuelson wasn't sure if he was going to give baseball in Washington another try.
"I honestly think, at the end of last season, Mark made the decision to give it up," Zeller said after Sunday's game. "But then he started thinking that he has something to prove. He wants to end his career on a good note."
