The San Francisco Giants invited Bryan Stow, the fan tragically beaten at Dodger Stadium a year ago, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday's home opener.
But Stow won't be able to make it because his family decided it's not the best thing right now for his long-term recovery.
Stow recently transferred to a specialized facility as he recovers from the traumatic brain injury given to him by two Dodgers fans in that parking lot. The frontal lobe of his brain was so mutilated it literally had to be removed.
His family told the San Jose Mercury News that while Bryan would physically be able to handle an afternoon at beautiful AT&T Park, it's the long transit to and from the stadium that's a matter of contention.
"We're concerned it might tire him out too much and set back his recovery," his mother, Ann Stow, told the Mercury News. "He's still getting used to his new place."
Stow is fighting to stand up on his own (he needs the help of a metal frame) and despite improved verbal skills, still struggles to begin a basic conversation. "A third of his brain was destroyed," his mother said. "So he's had to find new pathways."
Although some wild Internet rumors claimed Stow has made such a great recovery the past few months he'll someday return to his old job as a emergency medical technician, that's just not true.
"I think a lot of people don't understand how complex his injury is and how seriously injured he is," Ann Perkins, the director of rehabilitation relations at Valley Med, where Stow spent three months over the winter, told the San Jose Mercury News. "Bryan is a very disabled man and always will be."
But his family remains hopeful Bryan can make it to some other Giants home game later in the 2012 season.
And in a strange twist, Giovanni Ramirez, the man who was considered a prime suspect by LAPD in Stow's beating before being completely exonerated, attended the Dodgers' home opener. He was given box seats behind home plate by his lawyers and actually ended up signing a few autographs during the game.
In any event, San Francisco's National League club is expected to honor Stow in some way before it begins the home schedule.
-- Follow Ben Maller on Twitter @BenMaller.
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