Emil DeAndreis pitched for the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 2005-08, and though his numbers were pedestrian (2-2, 5.43 ERA), his journey since then has been anything but average.
DeAndreis went through the high of receiving a professional baseball contract (in Belgium) and the low of being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – the career-ender was a disease, not an injury, he’s is quick to point out – all in the same month.
While one dream ended, another is still very much alive. DeAndreis chronicled his “roller-coaster” journey in “Hard to Grip,” his second book, which was named as one of the “Top 25 Books of the Summer” by Honolulu Magazine.