A career built on second chances

After two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, many observers were certain the UW baseball team would be back in the postseason this spring. Washington has lived up to expectations, taking on Tulane today in the first round of the Oxford, Miss., regional.

But certainty has never been synonymous with Husky third basemen John Otness.

During his first two years at Wilson High School in Tacoma, Otness seemed well on his way to achieving his dream of playing for Washington. He was a two-time letter winner and only the fourth freshman in school history to earn such honors under coach Lonnie Slater.

An incident during a football game in the fall of his junior year placed his hopes in jeopardy. While playing quarterback for the Rams, Otness collided with another player, suffering a dislocated right wrist as he fell to the ground. The ligament damage was so severe, doctors told Otness he would likely never throw again.

"I cried at that point," recalled Otness.

But his tears of defeat soon turned into tears of determination. Before the night was over, Otness promised himself he would do more than throw again, he would make it to Washington.

"No one was going to tell me that I wasn't going to play again," he said.

Doctors put five pins in his wrist to repair the damage and Otness -- who had been playing baseball since age 5 -- found himself attempting to adjust to life on the sidelines.

"I was out for the majority of my junior year," said Otness.

Since the final year is typically the most important for a prep athlete, Otness worried about his chances of being recruited.

"I told him never to give up on his dream," said Otness' father Jim. "We started a project of rebuilding a pickup truck with the goal that he would be able to play again."

It would be six months before Otness would be back on the diamond. His first at-bat would come against South Kitsap High School's squad.

"I hit a line-drive up the middle and when I reached first base, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders," said Otness. "I was finally back; I remember looking over at my parents and seeing my mother cry."

Otness worked hard during the off season to regain his coordination and began his senior year poised to make up for lost time. Otness turned in his most impressive prep campaign, hitting .560 and being named Narrows League MVP and The Tacoma News Tribune's player of the year.

His effort was rewarded with a baseball scholarship to the UW. Otness' past injury was not a concern for Husky coach Ken Knutson.

"He was healthy by the time we recruited him as a potential infielder," said Knutson.

Just when he thought the worst of his injuries were behind him, Otness suffered a lacerated kidney while playing summer-league baseball for Chaffey, an Eastside baseball club known for attracting the best high-school players in the region.

"I was playing left field and I dove for a ball and landed really hard," he said.

Otness stayed in the game and belted a home run his very next at-bat, but as he rounded the bases he realized something was wrong.

He was bleeding internally and was hospitalized for a week.

"It was the most painful experience I've ever endured," said Otness. "It made my wrist feel like a cakewalk."

Otness would not see action for another six months; just as he had in high school, Otness began his freshman campaign looking on from the Husky dugout. True to form, however, Otness worked his way back onto the field and eventually earned the starting job at third base the following year.

"It taught me not to take anything for granted," said Otness; it proved to his teammates just how far willpower could take a person.

"I knew as soon as I met him that he was a leader," said UW junior first baseman Kyle Larsen. "He is such a hard worker and such an instrumental part of this ball club."

Facing his final postseason action in a purple and gold uniform, Otness cannot help but think back to his sophomore year.

With Otness aboard after getting hit by a pitch, former Husky Jay Garthwaite hit a game-winning two-run homer against Rice during the 2002 regional to force a playoff between the two teams.

For Otness, such moments make torn ligaments and a ruptured kidney seem like trivial nuisances, especially when they may represent the cost of making it to the College World Series in Omaha and winning collegiate baseball's most coveted prize: the national crown.