Lou Patler, Bay Area MSBL: “How MSBL Literally Saved My Life”
By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications
In 2023 at the MSBL World Series in Arizona, then 79-year-old Lou Patler was a member of the Sacramento Solons 70+ entry. Louis is a pitcher and threw two innings on Monday and Tuesday, as was the plan as laid out by manager Irv Scott.
On Wednesday he was not feeling too good and asked Irv if he could just sit out and be able to help if needed. Things got progressively worse throughout the game so Irv’s wife Sylvia went out to the parking lot and got some Tylenol for Lou and he was able to watch the rest of the game with the headache somewhat under control. He then went back to the rental house by himself.
Then on the morning of Thursday the 26th of October he felt worse and let Irv know that he was going to rest up at home.
Little did he anticipate that he almost died before the next game!
The headache worsened and turned to dizziness.
At 4:00 pm he was supposed to meet some friends to celebrate his 80th birthday that was approaching that weekend. Steve and Ann showed up to pick him up but it took Lou a long time to get to the door. He doesn’t remember much about what happened next, but he stumbled into his friend Ann’s arms and she and Steve took him directly to the emergency room of Honor Health Hospital in Scottsdale.
They whisked Lou from the car to the entrance and then into a waiting wheel chair. He doesn’t remember anything that happened the next six days. He almost died right there. The ER doctor called his wife back home in California and said they would “keep him alive until you get here”…a call that no spouse wants to receive. The rest of the story is amazing. Louis shouldn’t be here to tell it, but an amazing cardiologist took charge.
“I was admitted to ICU for ‘cardiogenic shock’ which was then upgraded to ‘acute systolic heart failure.’ That means my heart MUSCLE was acutely weak and my body’s systems and organs were shutting down. The valves and arteries were not damaged. A cardiac catheter and an impella were attached to my heart and took over artificially pumping to give my heart muscle a rest. My kidneys were hardest hit so I was placed on dialysis 24/7. In other words, my heart muscle was telling my brain and body, ‘I’m tired. I’m gonna take a long nap!”
The cardiologist, Dr. Chester, the ER doctor and a kidney specialist met Friday morning to take a vote on whether to save Lou or to literally “pull the plug”, based on his age and potential chances of a full recovery (10%). Dr. Chester was the one voting in favor of doing everything they could to save Lou.
“The young cardiologist, Dr. Chester, told the other doctors, who were leaning toward cutting things off, that I had been pitching the day before in a national level baseball game and was otherwise quite healthy. She told them that I was not your average 80-year-old and deserved to live.
“She said told the other two docs “I own this!”…meaning the decision to pull out all the stops to save me were to begin immediately in ICU. That’s why I say that literally playing in the MSBL World Series that week saved my life. Dr. Chester and four cardiac nurses then stayed by my side for 48 straight hours to make sure I got out of the initial dark woods!”
“Dr. Chester then started to see some hopeful medical signs. For example, I had 16 IVs going at the same time and began to revive a bit. Also, the Ejection Fraction (EF) which measures the percentage of blood that your heart can pump out into your body began to rise. A 40-yr old healthy male would have an EF of 50…the heart therefore is pumping half of the blood all the time. 40-yr old athletes can have an EF of close to 60. When I was admitted to the hospital my EF was 15! But by Day three in ICU my EF was close to 50 and by Day five the EF was 55!
This is where Dr. Chester and MSBL saved Louis’ life.
“The Angels were in my corner, friends got me to ER in time, and fortunately Honor Health Hospital in Scottsdale had all the specialized equipment needed for keeping me alive.” 
Seven days later Lou was transferred from ICU to telemetry so they could keep him under observation 24/7 via computers and video monitors. Then came the occupational therapy to learn to stand and then to walk and move with the help of a walker. He had to re-learn basic things like: brush his teeth, stand on his own, stand on a foam pad without falling over, and take a shower.
Lou was so quick at regaining those skills that by Day 15 he started to make up games with his therapist! He still needed dialysis three to five hours per day, but each day he was the kidneys showed minor improvement too.
“One great tip that I learned and recommend to everyone I offer you all: When all five of my adult children arrived at the hospital, they brought with them photographs of me to cheer me up when I came to. Many were MSBL pictures.
They didn’t ask permission they just strolled in and plastered the pictures all over the walls of my ICU room. It personalized me to the doctors and nurses so much so that I was becoming known in the ward as ‘The Baseball Guy’ and was also called ‘the miracle man’ because of my rapid recovery.
People would wander in and we’d talk baseball and they’d ask about MSBL and how an old guy can still be playing and not just watching. I also must have received 150 emails and texts from MSBL friends and teammates. If you know of someone going through a tough time, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. It is hugely appreciated.”
To repeat: Lou had a major heart attack, he spent six days in ICU while hooked up to 16 IVs at one time, he had a heart pump, and he spent 27 days in the scenic Scottsdale Honor Health Hospital. While in the hospital he had lots of time to reflect on life…and to set some baseball-related goals too.
Lou is playing ball again and has no plans to stop.
“This year I’ll be playing for the Sacramento Solons in the 75-over division at the MSBL World Series and also in the new 80-over division in week three. I have played with the Solons, Salty Dogs, and Dragons in past World Series’ and have accumulated eight rings. My first was with the Sacramento River Cats in 2002.”
During the regular season Lou plays for the Seals in the 50-over division of the Bay Area MSBL, though he does join his age group when playing in the World Series in Arizona for over 20 years.
“I am still competitive, and though I am old enough to be their father, the 50-over division in the league provides a little stiffer competition.”
Lou is pitching again and is an unbelievable 4-1 with the lowest ERA on the team and third lowest in the league. He has pitched in over 35 innings this year, as of this writing mid-August.
But playing baseball represents only one part of Lou’s passion. Coaching baseball is another major part. Lou is a 42-year-long Little League coach of baseball, and the life lessons baseball teaches.
“While in the hospital, my first baseball goal was to go to the tryouts for the Little League in January. The second goal was to throw batting practice for the kids in early February. I accomplished both.
I have been managing and/or coaching Little League for 42 years…six in West Marin Little League and the past 36 years here in Mill Valley Little League. As is often the case, I started managing teams when my own kids were playing. I knew a lot about baseball (signed out of High School by the Detroit Tigers but got injured 6-weeks later) so I looked to draft players with subtle tools like soft hands, high baseball IQ, teachability.
My two macro-objectives as a coach have always been the same: 1) That they fall in love with the game and 2) That they develop enough baseball skill and IQ that they can play the game for the rest of their lives if they choose. Once you learn and love the game, like swimming or riding a bike, it is always there for you.
Once my kids were older and out of Little League, I turned to coaching only, not managing, because the opportunity to manage I felt should go to dads or moms who wanted those special times with their own kids.”
While either coaching or managing, Lou has been a part of 11 City Championships, 15 All Stars District Championships, five Sectional Championships and two Nor Cals.
“Through all of those, my emphasis remains simple: Little Leaguers are not major leaguers, so you have to use different strategies. For example, every player MUST learn to bunt and play small ball; pitchers are rewarded for pitching to contact and their percentage of first pitch strikes and the fewest walk, not for pitch speed or wins and losses per se.
The last thing I’ll mention has to do with another debt I owe to MSBL.
I love baseball but hated playing softball. When MSBL got going I returned to playing hardball. The humbling nature of real baseball, the fielding and throwing errors I made, the bad pitches I swung at sometimes…all of this turned me into a much better coach, one who understood a player’s perspective and one with considerably more patience and understanding.”