Somewhere in Southern California, a good baseball pass away from the rippling waves of the Pacific Ocean and its mesmerizing beaches, Gary Vitti gushes.
These lofty praises weren’t about anyone in Vitti’s immediate family or even one of the Hall of Fame players he’s been around. Not Shaquille O’Neal. Not Kobe Bryant. Not Magic Johnson. Not even Gastonia native James Worthy. Instead Vitti, the legendary former head trainer for the Los Angeles Lakers, is recalling the well-traveled path of Nina Hsieh, the Charlotte Hornets’ senior athletic trainer.
He sounds like a proud father, reliving memories that are still vivid to this day.