An eight-month mystery regarding a shoulder problem has been solved for Clay Cederquist. It required surgery, yet has left the slugger from Fowler High confident that his Fresno State baseball career will be launched in the fall.
"I consider myself thankful because there shouldn't be any long-term effect," said Cal-Hi Sports' 2008 Small Schools Player of the Year.
After an MRI initially revealed a rotator cuff strain in the right shoulder of the left-handed first baseman, Cederquist learned he had a partial tear of the labrum in front of the shoulder after he was re-examined arthroscopically.
"MRIs are 95% accurate," he said. "I fell in the other 5%."
The injury was repaired surgically by orthopedist Eric Hanson on June 29 at the Fresno Surgery Center.
Fowler's Clay Cederquist celebrates after slamming a first run home run against Bakersfield Christian last year. Sidelined by an injury and surgery for several months, Cederquist is looking forward to getting back on the field and joining Fresno State.
"I'm three months away from swinging the bat," said Cederquist, who swung it like few others in the Central Section his first three years at Fowler, hitting .467 with 107 RBIs while twice making The Bee's All-Star team.
But he was denied his senior season last spring after beginning to feel discomfort in the winter when the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder was doing nothing more than following a lifetime routine of stroking balls off a tee in his backyard.
This began months of examination and rehabilitation -- if not frustration -- with the belief that rest was the answer. But when he resumed taking some groundballs and hitting off soft toss and the tee in May, irritation persisted.
He will begin classes Aug. 24 at Fresno State, which received his letter of intent in the early signing period last November.
The option of becoming a Bulldog was never lost, but the injury virtually precluded the possibility of Cederquist being taken high in the June major league free agent draft.
Now he hasn't seen live pitching for eight months, but he's viewed the game outside the batter's box. And, he believes, there is value in education by osmosis.
"Being on the sideline, in the stands and watching on TV has really changed my aspect on baseball," he said. "I see it differently, I've learned more and I'm taking little things with me.
"But it's been so long, I'm just anxious to get back onto the field and do what I can to help the ball team. Fresno State's a new environment, with new coaches [for me] and good players. That's so exciting."
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