SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — More than 2,220 miles separate two improbable dreams.
At Braves spring training in Venice, Fla., left-hander Tyler Matzek, nearly five years removed from pitching his last game in the majors, continues his comeback. Here in the desert, right-hander Daniel Bard, who last threw a big-league pitch in 2013, is trying to resurrect his career with the Rockies.
The two men share a deep love of the game and a maddening inability to throw strikes that derailed both of their careers.
“It’s the yips, that’s what it is. I don’t mind calling it that,” the 34-year-old Bard said.