How a onetime top Dodgers prospect became an advisor to four U.S. presidents - BERITAJA

The ninth successful an occasional series of profiles connected Southern California athletes who person flourished successful their post-playing careers.

When the Dodgers drafted David Lesch successful January 1980, they had visions of his fastball lighting up radar guns astatine Dodger Stadium.

He ne'er made it that far.

Lesch ne'er climbed supra the lowest rung connected the insignificant convention ladder, wherever he sounded conscionable 10 innings and gave up much runs, hits and walks than he sewage outs. Less than 18 months aft he was drafted, Lesch, wracked by a rotator cuff injury, was released, his awesome convention dream complete earlier he was aged capable to legally bargain a beer.

“I went to Disney World aft that,” he said.

But that wasn’t the only determination the Dodgers made that changed Lesch’s life. When he was drafted, the squad gave him conscionable a mini bonus, but sweetened the woody by offering to salary for assemblage if he ever went backmost to school. For the team, it seemed a safe bet.

“They about apt person this algorithm saying ‘this is the No. 1 draught pick. If he doesn’t make it, he’s not going backmost to college. He’ll beryllium adjunct shot coach of his precocious schoolhouse aliases something,’” Lesch said.

Oops.

Lesch not only went backmost to college, but he besides coiled up getting 3 degrees, including a master’s and a PhD from Harvard. It was arguably the about important finance successful humanity the Dodgers made since signing Jackie Robinson, because Lesch went connected to go 1 of the world’s apical experts connected the Middle East, penning 18 books and much than 140 different publications while advising 4 presidents and a cadre of United Nations diplomats.

David Lesch interacts pinch students successful his history people astatine Trinity University successful San Antonio.

(Courtesy of David Lesch)

“That was the champion deal,” Lesch, 65, said by telephone from San Antonio, wherever he is the Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of History astatine Trinity University.

“Without that I about apt could not person said yes to Harvard because of the price. The Dodgers committed to paying.”

And by doing so, the Dodgers whitethorn person altered history conscionable a bit.

Lesch’s regular meetings pinch Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, which ended pinch Lesch facilitating an important if impermanent breakthrough successful U.S.-Syrian relations? The negotiated and conflict-resolution activity successful Syria and the wider U.N. initiatives connected location issues passim the Middle East? The thousands of students Lesch inspired to spell connected to execute important negotiated and public-service roles of their own?

None of that happens if Lesch’s enarthrosis had held connected aliases if the Dodgers had reneged connected their deal.

“It was very fortunate that he wounded his rotator cuff. Baseball’s nonaccomplishment is academia’s gain,” said Robert Freedman, a clever clever and master connected Russian and Middle Eastern authorities who taught Lesch astatine the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

“I’ve been school for, I guess, 60 years now and I could show erstwhile a student could spot a analyzable problem and could penetrate correct to the bosom of the problem very quickly. He was 1 of those students.”

Still, it took a somewhat offhand remark from Freedman, who now teaches astatine Johns Hopkins, to motorboat Lesch connected his post-baseball career.

“We were having luncheon and he was looking for a task and I mentioned to him ‘you know, location hasn’t been a bully American clever clever doing activity connected Syria for many, galore years,’” he said.

“That struck his interest.”

Playing a child’s crippled and managing life-and-death Middle East authorities stock very small successful common. But Lesch made the modulation seamlessly.

“It is for illustration he’s respective different people, aliases has been,” said journalist and writer Catherine Nixon Cooke, whose book “Dodgers to Damascus: David Lesch’s Journey from Baseball to the Middle East” traces those parallel lives.

“I’m wondering if, successful a sense, it each worked retired the measurement it was expected to,” Cooke continued. “Even though his dream was to beryllium a awesome leaguer, David surely has reinvented himself to this really singular man pursuing a wholly different path.

“It was the Dodgers who paid for him to spell to Harvard and truthful it’s benignant of a weird thing. Baseball took distant his dream because he sewage hurt, but shot besides gave him his backup plan.”

Lesch was still a teen when, 20 minutes into his first outpouring training campy successful Vero Beach, Fla., Dodgers head Tommy Lasorda plucked him disconnected a insignificant convention believe section to transportation batting believe successful the main stadium.

Waiting for him were Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Reggie Smith, the bosom of a lineup that would triumph a World Series a play later.

It was the first clip — and about the past — that Lesch faced big-league hitters. And it didn’t commencement well.

Batting believe pitchers propulsion from down an L-shaped surface that protects them from comebackers and Lesch had ne'er utilized one. That, mixed pinch his understandable nervousness, caused him to short-arm his first fastball, which sailed astatine Cey’s head, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

“He sewage up and gave maine this mean look,” Lesch said. “I retrieve it truthful vividly correct now. I really thought I was going to beryllium released that day.”

Instead, he gathered himself and vanished the session, earning pats connected the backmost from some Garvey and Lasorda. The incident, he said, has colored the remainder of his life.

“I’ve met pinch presidents, premier ministers, been successful warfare zones, each sorts of things,” Lesch said. “Anytime I opportunity ‘well, you know, this should make maine nervous,’ I deliberation about that section and the truth that I made it done and did OK.”

In precocious school, Lesch had focused connected hoops and baseball. Academics? Not truthful much. So aft spending his freshman twelvemonth of assemblage astatine Western Maryland College, he transferred to Central Arizona, a inferior college, truthful he would beryllium eligible for the January 1980 draft, allowing him to waste and acquisition his books successful for a baseball.

The alleged secondary draft, which was discontinued six years later, was specifically targeted toward wintertime precocious schoolhouse graduates, inferior assemblage players, assemblage dropouts and amateurs who had been antecedently drafted but did not sign. As a result, the bonuses teams offered wintertime draught picks were conscionable a fraction of what players taken successful the June draught received.

Lesch’s was truthful low, he can’t moreover retrieve what it was.

“I want to opportunity $10,000 to $15,000,” he said. “No much than $20,000.”

When it became clear the Dodgers weren’t going to budge connected the money, Lesch’s father, Warren, a family expert successful suburban Baltimore, pulled retired the Harford County telephone book and looked up the number for Baltimore Orioles coach Cal Ripken Sr. Lesch played precocious schoolhouse shot against Ripken’s boy Cal Jr., who had been a second-round draught prime of the Orioles 2 years earlier. So his begetter thought the Ripkens mightiness person immoderate proposal connected what to inquire of the Dodgers.

David Lesch, a erstwhile Dodgers draught pick, stands connected the shot gem astatine Trinity University successful San Antonio.

(Courtesy of David Lesch)

“Ripken goes ‘does your boy for illustration schoolhouse and is he smart?’” Lesch’s older relative Bob remembers. “So Ripken suggested if they connection you XYZ prize money, return little and opportunity ‘I’ll return this amount, but you person to screen acquisition if he doesn’t make it.’”

Neither broadside thought that clause would ever beryllium triggered; Lesch, a big, intimidating right-hander who threw bullets from down Coke-bottle eyeglasses, wasn’t headed to a classroom, he was going to Dodger Stadium.

Until he wasn’t.

Lesch missed a mates of weeks pinch a backmost injury. By overcompensating for the sore back, he developed paralysis successful the ulnar nervus successful his correct arm, limiting him to 5 appearances successful his first insignificant convention season.

He arrived patient for his 2nd outpouring successful Vero Beach and threw 3 no-hit innings successful his first outing against double-A and triple-A players, creating specified a buzz that Ron Perranoski, the Dodgers’ awesome convention pitching coach, showed up to watch his 2nd game. By past the enarthrosis and backmost stiffness that shortened his first play had returned, and Lesch was rocked. Perranoski near early and unimpressed.

Lesch’s transportation had 1 awesome flaw: He threw straight overhand, arsenic opposed to three-quarters aliases moreover sidearm, which could summation velocity but besides places further strain connected the enarthrosis and elbow. As a result, his fastball could apical retired successful the mid-90s 1 day, but erstwhile the stiffness and symptom returned, it near him throwing successful the debased 80s.

The inconsistency continued to plague Lesch, and yet the Dodgers decided they’d seen capable and released him. When he sewage backmost to Maryland, Lesch’s begetter sent him to spot an orthopedic surgeon, who recovered the problem wasn’t successful his backmost aliases elbow but alternatively the rotator cuff.

“We didn’t unrecorded successful the era of transportation counts. So he conscionable pitched,” said David Souter, a precocious schoolhouse and assemblage teammate who went connected to create big-league pitchers.

“He had the expertise if he was developed and stayed healthy. I deliberation he about apt overthrew and tore his rotator cuff and cipher knew it.”

If Lesch had travel on 10 years later, erstwhile rotator cuff surgeries were common, he mightiness person returned to the mound. But successful 1981, a rotator cuff wounded was a decease condemnation for a pitcher.

“It’s conscionable a crapshoot based connected physiology,” Lesch said. “I about apt was destined. Something would person happened.”

If he could do it complete again, Lesch said he would alteration 1 thing.

“I’d propulsion sidearm,” he said. “It’s overmuch little stress.”

He threw to large convention hitters conscionable 1 much time. Following the onslaught that interrupted the 1981 season, Ripken Sr. phoned Lesch backmost and asked him to propulsion batting believe astatine Memorial Stadium to thief the Orioles hole for the resumption of play. As a reward, the Orioles fto Lesch deed — he ne'er had batted successful the minors — and he drove a transportation complete the left-field wall, past dropped the bat and walked away.

He ne'er stepped connected a awesome convention section again.

The Dodgers’ finance successful Lesch’s acquisition appeared manageable erstwhile he enrolled astatine a outer field of the University of Maryland, successful portion because his relative Bob was the school’s sports accusation director.

But it was 1981 and the Middle East was astatine the forefront of geopolitics. Lesch became convinced the Middle East would beryllium cardinal to world affairs for decades to come. Inspired and encouraged by Freedman and different professor, Lou Cantori, he applied to postgraduate schoolhouse astatine Harvard, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago, knowing he couldn’t spend immoderate of those schools connected his own.

“I about apt could not person said yes to Harvard erstwhile they accepted maine because of the price,” Lesch said. “The Dodgers had committed to paying and immoderate it was, it was a batch much collectively — my undergraduate MA and PhD — than I had gotten successful the bonus.”

That wasn’t the only clip his shot inheritance worked successful his favor. Years aft starting astatine Harvard, Lesch stumbled upon written evaluations of his exertion and learned that his grade-point mean and different factors were akin to those of different applicants, but it was his diversion profession that had swung capable votes successful his favour to get him accepted.

“Failure is astatine the halfway of sports. And truthful you person to person this resiliency,” Lesch said. “What a batch of the apical colleges person recovered is that these young kids retired of precocious schoolhouse who someway get a 4.6 GPA, they travel successful — and I’ve seen this arsenic a professor — they get their first C and they’re distraught.

“Athletes instrumentality pinch it. They opportunity ‘how could I move this around? How could I get better?’ Admissions departments crossed the committee person looked astatine athletes overmuch differently.”

The struggles Lesch knowledgeable connected the gem did not travel him into academia. Yet becoming an master connected the Middle East decidedly was a backup plan.

“His first passion was intelligibly shot and basketball,” said Souter, the erstwhile teammate. “Every kid dreamed ... that.”

If the enarthrosis wounded wasn’t a beardown capable motion that that dream was over, the occurrence that destroyed Lesch’s puerility location a fewer years later was. The flames, which severely burned some his parents, besides erased his shot career, consuming each the photos and memorabilia he had collected, prevention for the title ringing from his 1 insignificant convention season, which he recovered buried successful the embers. It was the only point to past the blaze intact.

David Lesch’s title ringing from his 1 insignificant convention season, the only surviving keepsake of his master profession aft a his family’s location was destroyed successful a fire.

(Courtesy of David Lesch)

A post-graduate travel to Syria, the first of much than 30 visits he has made to the country, sealed the woody a fewer years later. The emotion he erstwhile had for shot he now felt for a unusual and mysterious spot that was arsenic aged arsenic history itself yet arsenic secretive arsenic the classical ciphers.

Soon Lesch was helping put high-level meetings betwixt Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and President George H.W. Bush, a shot instrumentality who seemed arsenic willing successful Lesch’s Dodgers days arsenic his Middle Eastern expertise. But his large break came during the first statesmanlike word of Bush’s boy George W. Bush, erstwhile Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his begetter arsenic Syria’s president, welcomed Lesch for the first of galore interviews that informed his book, “The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Assad and Modern Syria.”

“His forte is listening,” Cooke, the biographer, said of Lesch, whose polite, unassuming mode reflects an big life spent mostly successful San Antonio. “When he goes successful to effort to mediate something, he is simply a large listener. There is simply a broadside of David that doesn’t talk much. But he’s listening.”

The book humanized al-Assad and opened, for a time, the anticipation of normalized relations betwixt Syria and the West, pinch Lesch serving arsenic an unofficial liaison betwixt Damascus and Washington, arsenic good arsenic different Western capitals.

“He’s perfectly a captious subordinate successful what we would telephone two-track diplomacy,” Freedman said. “If the authorities wants to scope retired but doesn’t want to return the governmental consequences, they nonstop personification to sound retired the situation.

“It’s perfectly captious that we person group for illustration that who could speak the connection and understand the wide context, which sadly is lacking successful the existent administration.”

David Lesch teaches students successful his history people astatine Trinity University successful San Antonio.

(Courtesy of David Lesch)

But that opening closed arsenic quickly arsenic it opened. Lesch’s adjacent contacts pinch al-Assad raised suspicions among immoderate successful Syria, and Lesch was poisoned twice. His narration pinch al-Assad was severed wholly soon afterward erstwhile he criticized al-Assad for failing to instrumentality promised reforms and becoming a “bloodthirsty tyrant.” The Syrian civilian warfare took about 700,000 lives and displace different 6.7 cardinal group earlier al-Assad and his family fled into exile successful Russia successful 2024.

“Many governments deliberation that they could trim warfare to a calculation,” Lesch said. “What we cannot measurement accurately aliases afloat admit is the quality element. We cannot measure a people’s consciousness of grievance, passion, revenge, ideological committedness and humanities circumstances that shaped the quality of their consequence and staying power.

“This is wherever academics could make a publication to policy, giving it the extent and penetration gleaned from years of study and learning the civilization and the people.”

Baseball’s nonaccomplishment wasn’t conscionable academia’s gain. It whitethorn beryllium to beryllium humanity’s arsenic well.

“I don’t really person immoderate regrets,” Lesch said. “My profession turned retired great. I could not deliberation of doing thing other astatine this constituent and, successful fact, successful a measurement I’m gladsome [baseball] didn’t activity out.”