As the Mariners’ assistant pitching coach, Jim Brower is often immersed in numbers, the ever-growing array of statistics and rates and angles that inform evaluation and instruction in the modern game.
But it is another number, a chilling one, that informs and energizes his life away from the ballpark. Brower’s daughter, Landry, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis shortly after her birth in 2007, and in the ensuing decade he and his wife Jessica have become increasing involved in the push for a CF cure.
While Landry, now 10, is a happy, thriving child, it’s still somewhat of a race to accelerate what have been remarkable advancements in the field of CF research.