Merced man lives his dream, plays catch with Fuentes

For John Matzenbacher, it all started with a movie.

The recently retired Merced resident had just watched the Clint Eastwood baseball flick “Trouble with the Curve” and was left inspired.

“You know the scene where Clint Eastwood’s daughter catches the big lefty? I saw it and thought, ‘God, I’d love to do that,’” Matzenbacher said. “I’d been thinking about it all night and then go the (Merced Golf & Country Club) the next day to hit some balls at the range. Who happens to be driving balls right next to me but a four-time All-Star?”

Matzenbacher, 67, and former major league pitcher Brian Fuentes knew each other from run-ins on the links, so Matzenbacher approached the southpaw about the idea of catching him after their round.

“Honestly, I just thought it was locker-room talk,” Fuentes said. “A lot of people actually approach me about it, but John was the first to follow through.

“We’d talked about it for two weeks and then he asked me what I was doing Wednesday. I was free.”

Merced College baseball coach Chris Pedretti, Matzenbacher’s friend and Fuentes’ former coach, helped the plan come to fruition. Pedretti provided the catching equipment and venue, and what started as a bucket list item became reality on Wednesday afternoon as Fuentes fired a couple dozen pitches to Matzenbacher in front of a small group of family and friends.

“It was everything I hoped it would be,” Matzenbacher said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It wasn’t just the speed that made it tricky, but the movement on his pitches was amazing.”

Matzenbacher didn’t come away from the session completely unscathed. His non-catching hand got in the way on one of Fuentes’ warm-up pitches and one of the few curve balls thrown drilled him in the chest.

After almost three years away from baseball, Fuentes, 39, acknowledged that his fastball is probably no longer in the low 90s like it was in his playing days. Still, he didn’t hold back with Matzenbacher.

“I haven’t done any real throwing in almost three years,” Fuentes said. “Just soft tosses to my Little Leaguers. I think it’s instinctual as soon as you step back on the mound, though.

“I didn’t have any batters to get out, but I was really focused in on hitting my spots. With John back there it was all the more important to do that. It was a fun time and I’m happy to help him knock one thing off of his bucket list.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Merced man lives his dream, plays catch with Fuentes."