Minor league pitcher, dad learn that ‘no one fights alone’
Sod Poodles support ex-Whitewater baseball and football standout
Lake Bachar was playing winter ball in Australia in January 2018 when his father, David, gave his son some bad news.
Cancer, which started as a tumor in David’s esophagus, had spread to his lungs, liver, abdomen and even his brain. It was incurable.
“When I did come back from Australia, I was home for two weeks and then had to go to spring training and only had two weeks to spend time with him after knowing he was diagnosed,” Lake said. “It was kind of scary for me. That it could be the last time I was going to see him kind of thing.”
David Bachar still lives in Illinois, where Lake grew up and played high school sports. But Lake, a fifthround draft choice by the San Diego Padres in 2016, has a number of Wisconsin connections. He lives in Cedar Grove with his fiancee’s family, and he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he thrived on the pitching mound and also as the kicker and punter for the national-champion football team.
Today, Lake plays for the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Padres’ Class AA affiliate. David has undergone che
motherapy to keep the tumor as mitigated as possible, and he did get a chance to fly out and watch his son play ball earlier this year after his illness limited any traveling for all of 2018.
“That was the first time in my pro career that he’s seen me play baseball,” Lake said.
On Saturday, the Sod Poodles are featuring “Bachar Strong” Night in support of the Bachar family. They’ll wear jerseys with “BacharStrong” on the sleeve bearing the message “No one fights alone” on the back.
Afterward, the team will host a live post-game signed jersey and signed San Diego Padres memorabilia auction with all proceeds benefiting the Bachar family’s medical expenses.
An idea that came from the Sod Poodles’ front office
Lake said the organization’s general manager and president approached him about the concept.
“My dad and I aren’t people to be asking for help,” Lake said. “They said they wanted to be able to support him, kind of out of the blue, and it took me by surprise. The jerseys will have a quote that we’ve sort of been living by since he was diagnosed.”
Bachar said the Padres, in addition to contributing items for the auction (and inspiring the sweet retro uniforms), have been supportive throughout.
“They’ve always stressed to me if I need to go home and recharge my battery if things aren’t going well, that I can do that,” Bachar said. “They’ve been in full support and making sure I get enough time with him and making sure that I can be mentally healthy.”
This season has been a good one for Bachar on the mound. Including one start at Advanced Class A Lake Elsinore, he’s got a 7-4 record this year with a 3.07 ERA over 22 games (18 starts). He’s recorded 117 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings. It represents a bounce back from a tough 2018.
“I went home this past offseason, and I feel like I spent a lot of quality time with him,” Lake said. “Mentally, I was in a better spot, knowing he’s going to be all good (when I leave) . ... I struggled a good amount (last year), but that was also around the first year of being away from my dad.”
David Bachar will undergo his 33rd chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday.
Always competing for national titles at Whitewater
Bachar (pronounced “like soccer,” he said) was a kicker for the Warhawks for three seasons, reaching the Division III national title game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, all three times. He kicked three field goals in the title game in a 43-34 win over Mount Union in 2014 and also worked kickoffs in 2013, when the Warhawks won convincingly over Mount Union. He made two more field goals in the 2015 semifinal loss to Mount Union.
But baseball was, of course, Lake’s bread and butter. He posted a 2.41 ERA over 25 appearances with the Warhawks in 2015 and 2016.
“Whitewater was an awesome experience for me, being able to play sports year round over there was just awesome, especially with such great programs,” Bachar said. “In three years, we went 42-2 (in football) and ended up playing in two national title games and winning them. Baseball, we did go to the College World Series. You always knew there was a chance we could do big things in the playoffs.”
One of his teammates on the Whitewater football team was Jake Kumerow, who’s currently looking like a good bet to make the Green Bay Packers roster.
“Anytime a D3 guy can make it in the big leagues or the NFL, anything big time, it’s always cool,” Bachar said. “It’s easy to relate to.”
Not surprisingly, David comes from a competitive background, as well.
“In my eyes (his dad) was the greatest racquetball player ever,” Lake said with a laugh. “He played all the way up until he was diagnosed, playing in level called Open, the level under Pro, and competing until he was in his 50s.”
Lake said his father is in good spirits, and Lake’s outlook on his baseball career could easily be extrapolated to all of life.
“It’s a complete unknown, taking it day by day, getting my innings in and getting my work done,” Lake said.
So what’s a Sod Poodle?
It’s another name for prairie dog. It won a competition for best name in minor league baseball last year.