By T.J. Brinkerhoff
tj@newsroom.byu.edu
BYU baseball's new pitching coach Mike Karpel teaches his players that if they 'work the process, the results will fall into place.'
Karpel practices what he preaches.
His life has been an example of work in process that could serve as the model for getting results.
Karpel's life was altered in March of 1990 when he suffered an injury that should have put an end to his baseball career.
'It was a drill where the guy shouldn't have been throwing me the ball but he did,' Karpel said.
He was hit in the right eye by a baseball destroying his optic nerve and depriving him of vision in that eye.
After consulting with doctors, it was concluded that the damage was irreversible.
But Karpel was not ready to hit the showers permanently.
He saw a doctor in Newport Beach, Calif., that told him it may be possible for him to continue pitching, but that he would have to give up playing in the outfield and batting.
'So I went out one day with one of my non-athletic friends, a guy who couldn't throw a ball through a window. I was able to adjust, my other eye just made up for it, and I was still able to play,' Karpel said.
His teammates from that time on referred to him as the One-eyed Bandit.
'I just decided that I can't live life scared. I had to do something that I loved, and I took it upon myself to take control of my life,' Karpel said. 'I feel that I have been blessed and rewarded because of that experience.'
Karpel went on to finish his baseball career to the amazement of coaches and doctors at Cal-State San Bernadino where he also earned an undergraduate degree in finance.
After graduation, Karpel was offered a coaching position at Long Beach City College and said he figured the business world could wait until he found out whether coaching could become a passion.
He coached at Long Beach City College from 1995-97, and then spent a year at La Quinta High School before moving on to West Hills Community College in Colinga, Calif., as an associate coach.
During his time coaching, Karpel also decided to pursue a master's degree in physical education, officially making the decision that coaching was a career worth pursuing.
He earned that degree in 1998 from Azusa Pacific University -- a private, non-denominational Christian school.
While studying there, three of his professors were BYU graduates, but none of them were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Their influence helped Karpel in his decision to come to BYU to pursue a doctoral degree in curriculum instruction in physical education as well as taking an assistant coaching position on the baseball team.
In January of this year, Karpel decided with the help of friend, Todd Pennington, to take the missionary discussions.
Karpel, a non-member at the time, was intrigued by the religion and wanted to know more about it.
'It was a natural attraction for me,' Karpel said. 'There is not a church that more strongly represents Christ. It is the church of Jesus Christ. All of its values and morals followed mine, and I also wanted to gain the perspective of my players. I wanted to know why they served missions, and why they believed the way they did.'
Karpel kept his pursuit of the church a private affair in many ways. He didn't tell the players or coaches that he was taking the discussions, and he put heavy emphasis on himself to read the scriptures and pray.
'I found that in this process I grew so much more, because I was prayerful and taking time to read and study the scriptures for myself,' Karpel said.
Although he continued to have questions, Karpel finally completed the discussions and decided to be baptized in July.