David Peterson Was Tragically Forced To Grow Up Quick

by Ricky Diffendale March 24, 2021

I, like many of you, was floored reading Anthony DiComo’s article about David Peterson yesterday. We’re all guilty of putting professional athletes on a pedestal and acting like it’s ok not to feel bad for any of them. However, they’re people just like you and me. After reading that article yesterday, I’m rooting even harder for Peterson to have success with the Mets this season and beyond.

ICYMI: David Peterson grew up around the stables, where his father was a well-known horse trainer who once worked with Seattle Slew.

Then tragedy struck, changing the course of Peterson's life forever:https://t.co/eiwNImSYid
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 24, 2021

He lost his father at the age of nine. That’s something no kid should ever have to endure. As DiComo put it, “he was forced to grow up faster than anyone ever should.” After building up his draft stock as a high school ballplayer, he broke his right leg in two places playing a pick-up basketball game two weeks before the start of the season. Yikes. Somehow, he was back on the mound pitching six weeks after that. He went on to become an All-American pitcher in college and a first-round draft pick by the Mets in 2017.

I thought this excerpt from the story was telling about how Peterson grew up quickly.

“It instilled a heightened sense of accountability and responsibility for myself,” David Peterson said. “And I think being able to have male figures -- like my mom’s dad and other people to kind of fill that gap when my dad passed -- was also a big part for me. I’ve always been able to lean on my family through hard times.”

Accountability and responsibility are usually things young pros have to learn. Peterson was forced to learn at an early age.

To hear about all the things Peterson's been through in his life, emotionally, mentally, physically; the fact that he’s here competing for a spot in the rotation (which I feel he deserved even before Cookie went down) is amazin’! And in Queens, we’ve always had an affinity for the amazin’.

David Peterson knows adversity and more importantly, how to rise above it. He’s been doing it his whole life. That’s the kind of guy I want to go to battle with. That’s the kind of guy I want on the mound for my team. Knowing what I know now, I have a new-found respect for him and, I’ll be rooting that much harder for him every time he takes the mound for the Mets.

Do yourself a favor and read the full article.