By Jonathan Okanes, Cal Athletic Communications
BERKELEY – The first thing Kimberly Drinker did after her discharge from the hospital following a craniotomy procedure was pay a visit to a youth baseball field in Carmel to watch her 10-year old son, Devin Pearson, play in the sectional playoffs.
Drinker had a fist-sized tumor removed from the right frontal lobe of her brain, and doctors told her she had one year to live. Given that prognosis, Drinker wanted to immediately participate in the activity that gave her the most joy – watching her son play.
“To get that diagnosis was devastating,” Drinker said. “We figured we would have the pleasure of focusing on Devin and baseball. Baseball really saved me that summer.”
As it’s turned out, Drinker has been able to follow Pearson’s baseball career a lot longer than her doctors predicted. She was cancer-free for four years before another tumor surfaced in her brain, and she underwent another craniotomy when Pearson was a freshman at Carmel High School. That was seven years ago, and Drinker has been cancer-free ever since.
Now, you’ll find Drinker in the Evans Diamond stands on the weekends rooting for her son, who is a junior outfielder for the Cal baseball team.
“I saw my mom fight through literally thinking she was going to die,” Pearson said. “She had a goal that she wanted to see me graduate from high school and turn into a man, and she persevered. What she’s had to go through is amazing.”
Pearson, a self-anointed “Mama’s boy,” calls his mother his hero. Since age 10, he’s watched her recover from two brain surgeries and the ensuing chemotherapy required. All the while, she’s worked as a psychotherapist in Carmel.
“She’s been the toughest woman I’ve ever met,” Pearson said. “She’s motivated me to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or just keep working hard through stuff. She’s just a wonderful woman.”
And Pearson has had his share of stuff to work through during his career at Cal. After a successful freshman season in which he hit .302, Pearson has battled injuries in each of the past two seasons. He recently returned to the lineup after missing six weeks due to injury and played a major role in the Bears’ three-game sweep of Arizona last weekend.
“Last year, I struggled baseball-wise for the first time in my life,” Pearson said. “I just thought, it could be worse. My mom’s been through worse. I’ve been through worse with my mom. This isn’t the end for me.”
If Pearson or any of his teammates struggle, you may hear about if from Drinker in the stands at Evans Diamond. Pearson said he’s had to “shush” his mom a few times after getting on the Bears during games, but it’s that feistiness that has helped her overcome the dark medical prognosis.
“It’s kind of funny because after the accumulation of everything, she’s really vocal with her opinions now,” Pearson said. “She doesn’t hold anything back. I have to tell her to tone it down. But at the end of the day, that same strong will kept her alive.”
Apparently, that edge didn’t rub off on Pearson. Drinker says she’s learned a lot from her son and his kind-hearted, compassionate personality.
“He’s always had this old soul wisdom,” Drinker said. “He’s such a compassionate person. He’s my teacher in that way. He’s much more generous and compassionate than I am. As good an athlete as he is, more importantly he’s just a kind, good-hearted person.”
Pearson showed signs of that compassion at a young age. The day before Drinker’s first surgery, she was in an ICU unit throwing up and complaining about headaches. But Pearson never left her side. The next day, Pearson pitched in a youth baseball game while Drinker was in surgery, and then returned to the hospital and told his mom she was his hero.
“Devin brings me so much joy,” Drinker said. “He’s an incredible person and has been a real blessing.”
Drinker has been able to watch her son develop into one of the best athletes ever to come out of the Carmel Valley. He was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays and also had offers to play college football, but ultimately ended up at Cal. That’s allowed Drinker and her husband - Pearson’s father, Dennis Pearson – to attend games regularly.
Dennis Pearson was quite an athlete himself, having played wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons in the late 1970s.
“You watch your dad’s highlights and everyone compares you to your dad when you’re in high school,” Devin Pearson said. “I used to love beating his former high school and rubbing it in his face a little bit.”
Pearson’s dream is to play Major League Baseball, but he seems at peace with not doing that if it doesn’t work out. He’s just as much looking forward to earning his degree in American Studies with an emphasis on the Global United States, and having his mom attend his commencement.
“She knows how hard it was on me growing up, with all the things she went through,” Pearson said. “She knows how bad I want to graduate and play baseball. She would be just so happy that she got to see it all. She’d just break down in tears. It would be surreal.”
