It was a moment four years in the making for the Giants organization and for Bryan Stow.
The Giants fan beaten outside Dodger Stadium threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday's home opener for the San Jose Giants, a team where he used to be a paramedic before he was left brain damaged in the attack four years ago.
"A lot was going through my brain," Stow said after the pitch. "This has been really big for me."
The former Santa Cruz paramedic, now 46, was left severely brain-damaged after the attack in Los Angeles in 2011. His prognosis was grim.
But then he started progressing and kept his love of baseball at the top of his mind.
Stow's son three years ago threw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game in his honor because he could not himself.
Stow continues to push himself, which made Thursday's pitch a special moment for him and his family.
"I'm trying to make the best of what's come of me," Stow said. "I'm getting my walking back. I need to walk more."
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Stow also joked around about the first pitch.
"I would love to do it again," he said. "When do they play again? Tomorrow? I can be here tomorrow!"
All jokes aside, Stow's pitch and the ovation he received from those in attendance is something that will fuel his comeback.
"Thank you to my fans. To the fans that are here for me, thank you," he said. "I can go home and cry over this like I'll do on the way home tonight."
The San Jose Giants are a minor league baseball team, and the farm team for the San Francisco Giants since 1988. Last year, Stow hollered "Play ball" during Game 4 of the World Series between the Giants and the Kansas City Royals.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Stow $18 million from the Dodgers and his assailants in 2014, although his family has yet to receive any of it. Two men, Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, pleaded guilty to charges from the attack including mayhem and assault. Sanchez received eight years in prison, Norwood was sentenced to four years.
Stow had come a long way since the attack. He came out of a coma, spent many years in a wheelchair, but is now able to walk and stand with a walker for short periods of time. He recently threw balls to his father, Dave, in his parent's Capitola backyard. In his interview with the Mercury News, he was quite coherent, but it was also clear he suffers some memory loss and concentration.
To learn more about Stow and contribute to his ongoing medical care, click here.
Alan Waples, Lisa Fernandez and Kristofer Noceda contributed to this report.
