LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A jetlagged Luiz Gohara arrived in Braves camp on Wednesday morning with the heavy heart he has carried since December, when he experienced the traumatic pain of literally feeling his father pass away.
"When I took him to the hospital, he just passed away in my arms," Gohara said as his voice slightly cracked. "The doctors really didn't know what made him die."
What should have been an offseason filled with celebration and anticipation instead evolved into one that challenged the mental strength of Gohara, a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher who burst on the Major League scene last September and proved why it's not just his frame that leads many to compare him to CC Sabathia.