CLEVELAND -- Tom Gordon could not believe his eyes. The skinny kid out in right field had just heaved a baseball from deep in the outfield to home plate on a fly. The former Major League pitcher happened to be at the diamond while coaching his travel ball team.
Gordon began asking around about the kid, who was all of 11 years old, but had a rifle for an arm. He found out his name was Juan Hillman and the local high school was already eyeing the boy as its future quarterback. On that day seven years ago, neither Gordon nor Hillman could have predicted how their lives would become connected.