Washington Nationals: Former Pitcher Micah Bowie Fighting for His Life

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2 Mar 1998: Pitcher Micah Bowie of the Atlanta Braves in action during a spring training game against the Houston Astros at the Disney”s Wide World of Sports Baseball Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. /

Micah Bowie’s injury rattled career drove him to help young players not make the same mistakes he did. So much so that upon retiring from baseball, he opened up a baseball academy with the goal to “fix kids,” according to piece published in My San Antonio.

"“I’ve gone through most every injury that you can go through as a pitcher,” said Bowie. “I know how to find out how to fix it, and how to come back and pitch on the major-league level."

Bowie was good in his new role as an advisor to kids. In fact, in that same My San Antonio piece, New Braunfels High School graduate Will Martin, who had lost several months of pitching due to pain in his arm, praises Bowie by saying, “If I didn’t have Micah, I would’ve torn my arm apart.”

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Maybe this was the pinnacle of Micah Bowie’s career. After spending year after year with team after team carrying the boulder up the hill only for it to roll back down again, here Micah was able to tap into his history in order to help others.

Unfortunately, this time when the boulder came rolling back down the hill, it might’ve be too heavy for Micah to roll it back up the hill again.

10 years after hanging up his cleats for good, Bowie’s main focus in life is to continue breathing.

In piece published on January 17, Bowie told the Washington Times, “Everything around my family’s life on a daily basis is about me breathing, just trying to keep my breathing for now”.

That’s because after undergoing back surgery in 2016, Bowie experienced complications that wound up damaging his lungs.

“Now that my lungs are destroyed, about 50 percent of my lungs receive air,” Bowie told the Washington Times. “I have about a 9% perfusion rate, which means about 9 percent of my lungs are working.”

This has left Bowie and his family in a dire financial situation. Micah’s medical bills are so astronomical that he’s qualified for government disability payments, but the payments aren’t enough.

As a last resort, Bowie turned to the MLBPA for help, but was denied benefits because he didn’t have the four full years of time to automatically get benefits. “I am 20 days short,” Micah told the Washington Times.

20 days.

If that’s not enough, upon appealing the MLBPA’s decision, Bowie appealed, but was quickly denied. “I called the union,” Micah told the Washington Times,

"“I talked to a member of the pension committee, one of the guys who had declined my benefits, and he informed me he didn’t even read my case. He just read from the attorney for the pension plan that they could deny it, so without looking at my stuff they just denied me."

So, it seems that unless some sort of miracle happens, Micah Bowie has rolled the boulder up the hill for the last time.

It doesn’t have to be that way, however. A team can sign Bowie to give him the time he needs to qualify for the benefits he requires. Perhaps the Braves… the Cubs… the A’s… the Nationals… the Rockies?

Heck, MLB players averaged over $4M in 2018. Any of them can step in and help a former member of their union.

Next. Rendon looking for Altuve money. dark

If all else fails, however, we can do something. Donations for Micah can be made at https://www.ballplayersassociation.org/donate-now or call (480) 404-9339 or checks may be mailed to:

APBPA 23623 N Scottsdale Rd # 290 Scottsdale, AZ 85255.

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