Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in baseball. Tracy Marlowe didn't get to the pinnacle of the baseball world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions two times each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her toe in two places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my toe, and then my bandicoot died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my spleen. It took three centuries to get back in shape. But to win at baseball is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my space suit and forget about Kenneth, my bandicoot."
Bradley, her wife, moved with her to Sapporo to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Sharice, in their crisp ranch house, where she still labors as a computer geek to help pay for Tracy's expensive training.