MATHIS FINDS HIS OWN FIELD OF DREAMS; FORMER JETHAWKS PLAYER RISES ABOVE HIS TROUBLED CHILDHOOD.Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer He's humble about it, but Joe Mathis is special to the townsfolk of tiny Johnston, S.C. ``I wouldn't say I am a hero or anything,'' the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. minor-leaguer didn't have any choice. I had to grow up said. ``But everybody knows who I am.'' The former JetHawks center fielder, who in 1997 produced one of the most productive single seasons in the franchise's first three years, is grateful for the opportunity professional baseball has given him: A chance to make something of himself after a troubled childhood in Johnston, population 2,500. Mathis lived in a country home with his single mother, Susie. His grandmother Georgia supported the family by working both as a nanny and at a nearby sewing factory. Just 39, Georgia died of a heart attack when Joe was four. ``I still remember them taking her out of the house,'' Mathis said. ``I was very young and I didn't know what was going on. I remember the funeral. I remember all of that.'' Joe's teen-age uncles Andrew, Johnny and George, and aunts Sarah and Sheila were also living in the house. The family went on welfare shortly after Georgia's death. ``Not a day went by when I didn't eat three meals a day,'' Mathis said. ``But we had to sacrifice a lot . . . People think I am always lying about it. But it was very, very true.'' The household had no indoor plumbing. Water had to be steamed for Joe and his family to take hot baths. He lost much of his childhood under the influence of his sometimes rough older cousins. Mathis made a point not to cry or display any emotion in the presence of his cousins. ``They treated me like anyone they knew,'' he said. ``If I cried I had to stay home . . . I grew up tough. I didn't have any choice. I had to grow up fast.'' Fast with an attitude. Mathis was a three-sport star at Strom Thurmond High School, excelling mostly at football, his natural sport. Basketball and baseball success came mainly because of his superior athletic ability. The constant negative influence from his cousins taught Mathis to play his sports rough, if not dirty. ``I never knew how to play baseball How to Play Baseball is a cartoon made by the Walt Disney Company in 1942. Synopsis Goofy takes the time to demonstrate America's national pastime, then plays a game - one in which he plays all the bases. or basketball,'' Mathis said. ``I couldn't hit the ball or dribble and shoot a basketball.'' He couldn't take the time to study hard in the classroom either. He barely got by on the way to graduating, earning a handshake handshake - handshaking from the school's namesake name·sake n. One that is named after another. [From the phrase for the name's sake.] namesake Noun , Senator Strom Thurmond himself, in 1993. When the Mariners selected him in the 27th round of the amateur draft, Mathis signed the next day and was off to rookie ball in Peoria. College was never a consideration. ``I didn't get very good grades. I was a knucklehead,'' Mathis said. ``I wasn't a dummy Sham; make-believe; pretended; imitation. Person who serves in place of another, or who serves until the proper person is named or available to take his place (e.g., dummy corporate directors; dummy owners of real estate). or anything. I just wanted to always take the easy way out.'' Not anymore however. He married Natasha, his childhood sweetheart, and plans to enroll in college back home in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. this offseason to study public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most or exercise science. A career in major-league baseball has not been dismissed yet. But Mathis has spent six seasons in the Seattle organization, primarily in the low minors, following up his best season to date at Lancaster in 1997 with a disappointing effort at Double-A Orlando. After batting .283 with 14 homers, 82 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in , 28 doubles, 15 triples and 25 steals with the JetHawks, he was limited to a .251 average, four homers and 41 RBI in the Southern League. His 1998 decline can be at least partly attributed to a freak injury during spring training. One day after collecting his only major-league hit in a Mariners' split-squad game, Mathis collided with Seattle shortstop Tilson Brito </noinclude> Tilson Brito born May 28, 1972, is a Dominican baseball player who currently plays for Uni-President Lions of Chinese Professional Baseball League. He currently plays as third baseman for the Lions. while chasing a pop fly and suffered a right knee contusion CONTUSION, med. jurisp. An injury or lesion, arising from the shock of a body with a large surface, which presents no loss of substance, and no apparent wound. If the skin be divided, the injury takes the name of a contused wound. Vide 1 Ch. Pr, 38; 4 Carr. & P. 381, 487, 558, 565; 6 Carr. . He landed on the disabled list and never regained his JetHawks form. That setback pales in comparison to his childhood adversity. ``I had it pretty bad,'' he said. At 24 with just a season of Double-A under his belt, Mathis has accepted the knowledge that so many minor-leaguers must deal with at some point in their careers: not reaching the big leagues. ``I feel cherished that I am in position to be where I am right now,'' said Mathis, who will probably spend this season back at Double-A in New Haven New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many , Conn. ``Nobody else from Johnston, S.C. has ever played any kind of professional sports The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. . And to be where I am today is special. ``If I never make it to the major leagues I thank the Seattle Mariners for staying patient with me and giving me that opportunity . . . I am still going to work hard and not give up on my dream to get there.'' |
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