Battles over, Byrd eyes the big leagues Chatter Triple-A Charlotte (White Sox) right-hander Jon Rauch, one of the top performers in the minors last year and an ace on the gold medal U.S. Olympic team, was shut down for the second time this year. This time it's season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. ... The Padres lost top pitching prospect Gerik Baxter to Tommy John surgery. Baxter, one of six first-rounders for the club in 1999, was 5-6 with a 3.40 ERA at Class A Fort Wayne last year but had not pitched in 2001. ... Cubs right-hander Ben Christenson had season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-May. ... OF Josh Hamilton, who was struggling in the early going at Double-A Orlando (Tampa Bay), went on the DL with back trouble. He is expected to miss a few weeks. ... Expos outfielder and 2000 Olympian Brad Wilkerson moved up from Class A Jupiter to Triple-A Ottawa on the next leg of his rehab from shoulder surgery. Through Saturday he was hitting .200 with a homer and three RBI in 25 at-bats. ... Toronto pitcher Roy Halladay is back on track after being sent from the majors to Class A Dunedin to start the season. Halladay was deemed to need a total overhaul rather than some Triple-A tinkering. He took the demotion with the right attitude, though, and walked just three batters in 22 innings before a promotion to Double-A Tennessee. ... Arizona right-hander John Patterson, coming back from Tommy John surgery, moved up from Class A Lancaster to Double-A El Paso after making his first start in more than a year. His comeback was hindered this spring by a strained shoulder.  Lisa Winston It might not have appeared as if Emma and Charles Byrd had much to be thankful about during Thanksgiving 1996. Their son, Marlon, had just had emergency surgery on his right leg. He was a sophomore at Georgia Tech and a budding star for the baseball team. The doctors operated hoping to discover the cause of pain so intense it had kept Byrd sleepless for four nights in a row. They discovered an infection and swelling of the anterior tibialis muscle so severe that it had cut off the circulation. The surgeons considered immediate amputation but decided to hold off. They cleaned out the infection and hoped to eventually operate again to reconnect the tendons. After the surgery, the doctors sat down with the Byrds and gave them the bad news. Their son's baseball career was over. If he was lucky, he might someday walk again. The Byrds digested this news and asked the doctors to let them tell their son themselves. Then they decided not to tell him at all, for the time being at least. "They kept it to themselves and just told me I would be fine," recalled Byrd, who rehabbed from the surgery for two months before returning for the second operation to reconnect his tendons. He wore a hard cast for six more weeks, then began a slow and arduous rehabilitation process that took almost two more years. It became clear that he not only would walk again, but also that he was miraculously on his way back to baseball. Only then did his parents tell him what they had been told after his first operation. Byrd never questioned their decision. He thanks them for it. He's not sure how things would have differed. "I was on my way to getting my degree at Georgia Tech, and I guess I would have rehabbed a lot less and studied a lot more," he said. "I was rehabbing so I could play baseball. The whole two years I rehabbed, it was all about playing baseball again." After the operation, Byrd, who's 6-0, gained 90 pounds to weigh 315. But once the cast came off, and he could move his toes, he knew he was on the road to recovery. He went on a diet and worked out as best he could given his physical limitations. When he was ready to return to the diamond, he was back to his playing weight of 225. In February 1999, Byrd picked up a baseball bat for the first time in more than two years. He was no longer at Georgia Tech, but transferred to Georgia Perimeter, a small local college with a solid baseball program. At 21, one of the oldest players on the team, he was voted team captain and had more fun playing than ever before. The remarkable return was capped when the Phillies called him in June to tell him they had drafted him in the 10th round. "I made about 100 phone calls and was ready to go," Byrd laughed. That summer at short-season Batavia, he hit .296 with 13 homers and 50 RBI, earning New York-Penn League All-Star honors. One year later  four years after coming within moments of losing his leg  Byrd was named the Philadelphia Phillies' Minor League Player of the Year after batting .309 with 17 homers, 93 RBI and 41 stolen bases for the Class A Piedmont Boll Weevils. He was caught stealing just five times all season and was among the minor league leaders with 13 triples. He also had 29 doubles. All this from a young man whose baseball career was "over." Thanks to the wisdom of his parents, coupled with his own drive and determination, Marlon Byrd is not just one of the great comeback stories in baseball. He is also one of the game's top prospects. "He has power and speed, and now he has a solid right field arm because he's worked at it so hard," Phillies farm director Mike Arbuckle said. "It was really the only part of his game that was weak, and now it's major league average, if not better." Byrd spent much of the offseason working out at the Phillies' complex in Clearwater, Fla., and took advantage of the strength and conditioning training center. While there he made a big impression on the organization's front office with his dedication and makeup. "He's so mentally tough, a very focused young man who has a sense of humor but is all work on the field," Arbuckle said. "He's one of those kids who leads by example because the other guys look and say, 'Gee, this guy is working so hard, I can't let myself fall behind.' He doesn't try to be a leader." The Phillies decided to skip Byrd from low-Class A Piedmont (now Kannapolis) to Double-A Reading, and after some early struggles, he ranked among the minor league leaders in homers through early May. After going without a homer in his first 10 games of the season, he picked up the pace. Through Saturday, Byrd led the Eastern League with 13 homers. He was batting .253 with 29 RBI and nine steals and already has racked up one Eastern League Player of the Week award. Byrd knows that while he is already 23 years old, he lost key years of development. "Physically I believe I can play the game, but I really need to work on the mental side," he said. "I'm still young baseball-wise, and there's a lot I need to learn." If the task of making up for lost time would seem daunting to most, Byrd was unafraid. "The struggles and challenges will seem very easy compared to what I've been through," he said. "I'm ready for anything now." E-mail Lisa Winston at lwinston@usatoday.com This week's index

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