Spirit in St. Louis

By Roger Garfield / First appeared in The Daily News Journal on July 1, 2008, and is reprinted with permission

The place that first brought serenity to Doris and Ken Frizzell after the passing of their only child brought some of their closest friends extreme joy on Monday.

 

Nearly a year after the death of their son Jordan Henderson — and eight months after their first visit to Busch Stadium — the Frizzells watched a ballgame in St. Louis with the entire Riverdale baseball team, in town as guests of Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.

 

The Cardinals beat the New York Mets, 7-1. And the Riverdale team experienced one of the most memorable, and enjoyable, days of their lives in the process.

 

"This has been something we'll never do again in our lifetime," Riverdale coach Barry Messer said.

 

Lifetime. In the last year, that word has taken on a whole new meaning for everyone with any ties to this baseball program. And that includes the Pujols family.

 

Henderson died July 5 in a car wreck on South Church Street. He was 16, and he was a budding pitcher — with college aspirations — on the brink of his senior year.

 

In September, the Frizzells were contacted by the Pujols Family Foundation, which had learned the story of Henderson and that he had carried an article about Pujols in his wallet.

 

Soon, Pujols had sent the Frizzells a jersey with Henderson's name and No. 7 stitched on the back. It was signed by the entire St. Louis team. About a week later, they visited St. Louis to watch their first baseball game since their son's death. At the time, they said it was the first calm they had felt since his passing.

 

In their return Monday, the Frizzells were happy to share the moment with the Riverdale team — the boys who had been Henderson's closest friends. And Pujols was thrilled to meet them, as well.

 

"The impact that Jordan has had on these kids and to that community over there, I think is the same impact that he brought into our family," the 28-year-old slugger said.

 

Pujols and his wife Deidre have become closer and closer to the Frizzells in the last year. Pujols says, because of how devout a Christian Henderson was, their relationship is a God-driven one.

 

"Hopefully these kids can follow that example and hopefully give their lives to Christ, if they haven't already," he said. "Because it's about Him. With Him, all things are possible, and that's what we live for."

 

The Riverdale players — past and present — who were former teammates of Henderson's believe firmly that Pujols' involvement in the Frizzells' lives has had a significant effect on their ability to move on.

 

"This whole thing has helped everyone cope," said Ben Jones, a 2007 graduate who used to drive Henderson to school every day. "It's helped everyone with Jordan's death. I've been thinking about him while we've been here, wishing he could be here. But he's still here, though."

 

The team had quite a day — watching batting practice on the field, meeting Pujols for the first time, touring the Cardinals' clubhouse, watching the game from the owner's suite behind home plate — and all the while, Henderson remained at the forefront of the thoughts.

 

"The whole reason we're here, it never leaves your mind," said Brett Lanning, a recent graduate who caught for Henderson last year. "You just constantly think about it. You try to see it as a joyous occasion, but for the reasons we were all brought together, it's just so sad. But we have to keep thinking of this more as a celebration and a joyous occasion."

 

That's exactly how it went Monday, with Pujols feeling the players' excitement on the field and deciding to take them on an impromptu tour of the facilities.

 

"He saw the enjoyment on everybody's face, and he wanted to do more than he did," Ken Frizzell said. "He just keeps trying to outdo himself and just do as much as he can."

 

Pujols had hoped to visit Murfreesboro in March to throw out the first pitch for the Warriors' opening day game but was unable to attend. His message to the team Monday was to learn from Henderson in more ways than one.

 

"If you look at the whole picture, hopefully some of these kids take (his life) as an example," Pujols said. "Because our lives are so short. One day, you don't know if you'll be here and the next day you don't know if you're going to live. Make sure that you stand up for Christ and for yourself."

 

After the clubhouse tour, the Warriors joined Pujols, the Frizzells and Riverdale parent Greg Hart outside the Cardinals' locker room for a prayer. They held hands and closed their eyes, strengthening the bond that began last September.

 

Nineteen of the Warriors then walked slowly up to the owner's suite and sat down in the open-air seats, taking in their surroundings.

 

Doris Frizzell stood behind the boys, watching them sit in the seats that had brought her a wave of refreshment eight months earlier.

 

"There were just enough seats," Doris said, pointing out that all 19 of the Warriors fit into the two rows.

 

Then she thought about her son, and she took a deep breath.

 

"Jordan's not here," she said, pausing. "But he's here."

 

A tear rolled down her left cheek.

 

"He's here. He's here."