BY MATTHEW PEASLEE
Since taking over as West Virginia head baseball coach in 2013, Randy Mazey has established a family atmosphere with new traditions for the program.
One of his favorite traditions is the yearly father-son camp.
Always held on Father’s Day weekend, Mazey invites fathers and sons to Mon County Ballpark for a day of learning fundamentals and playing catch.
A true, time-honored tradition.
“Watching the interaction between fathers and sons is always my favorite part,” Mazey said.
On March 9, Mazey had a sudden interaction with his own son, Weston. A moment in time he will never forget.
Weston, 14, was playing shortstop in a local baseball game when there was a shallow fly ball hit to centerfield. He ran back to attempt a diving catch. Simultaneously, an outfielder came in at full speed, didn’t dive, and kicked Weston in the head with his knee.
“Right away he wasn’t moving,” Mazey said.
His fatherly instincts kicked in and he sprinted onto the field to check on his injured son.
“As I was running out there I was thinking to myself that I’ve watched enough UFC fights in my lifetime to know that if somebody gets knocked out they’re usually out for about 30 seconds then wake up and ask somebody what happened,” Mazey said. “Then they get up and kind of get their whits about them. When I went out there that wasn’t the case at all.”
Weston remained motionless. His eyes were open but he was unresponsive, lying in a pool of blood.
Paramedics were called and arrived on scene rather quickly then he was rushed to the hospital. Mazey rode with his son in the ambulance and Weston was immediately taken to the trauma center.
“It’s like what you see on TV,” Mazey said. “There’s 20 people in there trying to resuscitate him.”
Weston was taken in for a CAT scan and then put on a ventilator.
“That might have been the hardest part of all — sitting there with my wife, Amanda, waiting for the results of the CAT scan,” Mazey said. “The doctor came out and said he has multiple skull fractures and a bunch of broken bones in the front of his face and his brain was swollen and bleeding.”
The road to recovery began right there.
The brain swells soon after a brain injury occurs and for the next three or four days it continues to swell. Weston was monitored intently over this period but doctors did not have to intervene. He remained on a ventilator in the ICU for a week and the swelling went down.
On just the second day in the hospital, Weston, also known as Wammer, said, “Hi, mom,” and he recognized his father, too.
From March 10 on, the Mazey family came up with the creed to “win the day.” They filmed and photographed Weston from his hospital bed to track his progress and document his recovery each day.
On March 13, he watched the live stream of the WVU baseball game against Central Michigan and he was lifted out of bed for the first time. By March 15, he was communicating better and was moved from the ICU to a different floor of the hospital. On March 16, he stood up and got some fresh air outside. On March 17, he helped clean his bedside table.
Weston had a special visitor on March 18 as his dog was brought to the hospital and they cuddled in bed. He also was able to get up and practice his swings, using a broom and a beach ball to take a little batting practice in a hallway.
It was moving day on March 19 when Weston was transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta where they focus on the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injuries and other neuromuscular problems. Getting the proper treatment there would be an added boost for Weston’s recovery.
The experience at Shepherd would also be life-changing for his parents.
“We have met so many families who have had a devastating injury to a loved one,” Amanda Mazey said. “It’s just heartbreaking. You never think it can happen to you, but it can in an instant.”
The Mazeys were approached by friends interested in donating money to help with the hospital and rehab expenses. While they appreciated the help the Mazeys wanted to find ways to give to the families they had met over the past few months.
They encountered families who have had to quit jobs, sell houses and sacrifice time with other loved ones to spend every waking moment with a family member who had suffered a terrible brain or spinal cord injury.
Through TeamWammer.com, the Mazeys hoped to raise $100,000 in 100 days. Within a week, that mark was already passed.
“Eighty percent of the people who have donated, we don’t even know who they are. It kind of restores you’re faith in humanity,” Randy Mazey said.
Coach Mazey missed more than a dozen games with the Mountaineers this season. He appreciated the support from his assistant coaches and the understanding nature of his players.
“They all wanted to check on him to see how he was doing,” Mazey said.
Throughout April while Weston was still in rehab in Atlanta, he was moving more swiftly and beginning to swing a real baseball bat for the first time in a month.
He was progressing fast enough to be released from Shepherd in May. Coach Mazey had returned with his team and Amanda, daughter Sierra, and Weston were going to fly back to Morgantown. They weren’t home long, though, as they then flew down to Austin, Texas, to surprise the Mountaineers before their series against the Longhorns.
On May 20, after taking batting practice, Coach Mazey huddled the team on the field. A now-viral video showed Weston walking through the tunnel at Disch-Falk Field and onto the field. He taps senior infielder Tyler Doanes on the shoulder and as Doanes turns around he has the biggest smile on his face.
The entire team embraced Weston with hugs, high-fives and signs of genuine love.
“And by the way,” Coach Mazey said, “we beat Texas that day.”
“It was awesome to finally see him again,” said senior catcher and outfielder Paul McIntosh. “That little guy is like a brother to me.”
McIntosh transferred to WVU from Motlow State Community College in 2019. He wanted to showcase his talents at the Division I level but also wanted a place that felt like home. He immediately recognized the family atmosphere of the West Virginia baseball program by having dinner at the Mazey house on his official visit.
“When I first got here I was welcomed by the Mazey family,” McIntosh said. “They really took me in and treated me like one of their own. I knew I would be taken care of here.”
McIntosh was even a babysitter for Weston and Sierra.
For the past nine seasons, Weston has been a batboy for the Mountaineers. He even took on that role when Mazey was the pitching coach at TCU from 2007-12.
“That’s the thing I like the most about our players. They’re great baseball players but the way they treat my son is amazing. They accept a 14-year-old kid into a group of a bunch of college guys like he’s family. That’s not easy to do for a lot of guys but that’s why we’ve always preached in our program that if you come to West Virginia University to play baseball you immediately become a part of our family,” Mazey said.
For Weston, he is proving that it is possible to win each day, no matter the circumstances. Brain injuries are a unique ailment because the effects can vary so much from person to person. Doctors say the brain will recover about 90% after the first year and the majority of that 90% is in the first few months.
Weston won’t be able to resume high-intensity team sports until at least March 2022. He goes to the field with his dad nearly every day to hit and field grounders. When he plays baseball on a team again he will have to wear a helmet in the field, like former MLB All-Star first baseman John Olerud.
He still keeps a positive attitude and is grateful for the support from far and wide.
“Thank you for all of your prayers,” he says on TeamWammer.com. “They’re working. Please pray for the people who have had injuries like mine.”
Coach Mazey said Weston and Sierra will help their parents allot the money raised through TeamWammer.com to families in need across the country. The total raised is nearly $150,000 right now and proceeds from the father-son baseball camp will go toward the effort.
Mazey cherishes every moment with his wife and children, especially around Father’s Day. Several years ago, he was fishing with Sierra and there was a “near accident” when she got swept into the river.
“I thought I was going to lose her,” he said. “When something like this happens to your children it makes it that much more special to you when you can be together celebrating a holiday or just any day together.”
One of Coach Mazey’s favorite Father’s Day memories was back in 2010 when he played catch with Weston and Sierra on the field at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. – the former site of the College World Series.
He’ll always cherish that true, time-honored tradition.
This Father’s Day, he’ll hold his children tight cherishing every moment they have together.
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