WASHINGTON -- Paul Thornton was sitting in the wheelchair section behind Section 114 at Nationals Park on Wednesday when the bullpen door swung open and his son, Zach Thornton, stepped onto the warning track.
"Here he comes!” Paul’s wife, Julie, said. She pulled out her phone and began recording, as Zach paced closer to the visitors' dugout. “This is the best part of the game right here.”
For any set of parents, a son’s Major League debut is a once-in-a-lifetime event, a point of pride, the culmination of two decades of sacrifice. For Paul Thornton, it was all that and far, far more, in the Mets' 8-4 loss on Wednesday night against the Nationals.
Seven weeks ago, Paul underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his spine. During the operation, he began to bleed, resulting in temporary lower-body paralysis. Paul has not walked under his own power since. He has spent the past several weeks at a physical therapy facility in Chicago, where he is learning to move his legs again. Though he has never been a social media person, Paul is documenting his progress on Instagram.
It was in the midst of this challenge that Mets pitcher Clay Holmes broke his right fibula, putting the team in need of a starting pitcher. After some deliberation, the Mets tabbed Thornton, their 13th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, known for impeccable control throughout his Minor League career.
Given a day and a half to make his arrangements, Paul Thornton came to the only conclusion possible.
"I wasn’t going to miss this for the world,” he said from his perch in Section 114.
For the next hour and a half, Paul watched his son navigate his Major League debut with a fair amount of poise, allowing a three-run homer to CJ Abrams in the first inning before settling down to retire nine of the final 10 batters he faced.
All told, Thornton allowed four earned runs over 4 1/3 innings, striking out three in his first appearance in the big leagues.
"The one thing that I liked, even after he got punched there in that first inning, he didn’t back down,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He kept going after it.”
Medical issues aside, this was the first time Paul had seen Zach throw in almost two years due to his busy schedule as an assistant track and field coach at the University of Kansas. Although Paul regularly watches his son’s games online, he hadn’t seen one in person since Zach was in the lower Minors.
The Mets did recently extend Zach two leaves of absence to visit his father -- once to go to Kansas at the time of his surgery, and once to travel to Chicago during his rehab. The team also helped Paul navigate the challenges of traveling to his son’s debut in a wheelchair.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Paul said. “Very exciting. We’re just really thrilled with what he’s doing and really thrilled with what the Mets have done for him given the situation that I have. The support that the organization has provided him, that’s made it even easier on him.”
Asked before the game about how much pride he was taking in his son’s debut, Paul paused, tears welling into his eyes. “Yeah,” he finally stammered. “Pretty good.”
"Usually, I’m not an emotional guy,” Paul continued after gathering himself. “But … with all this that’s going on? That’s what gets me.”
Post-Major League debut, Paul planned to fly back out of Washington to continue his rehab. He is a few weeks away from being able to ambulate with the assistance of a walker. Nearly two months removed from surgery, he has some sensation back in his lower body. His doctors and therapists have been consistent in their belief that he will eventually return to full mobility.
In the interim, Paul will continue tracking Zach’s progress, whether he remains in the Mets’ rotation or shifts back to the Minors. (The team should decide on that later this week.) Either way, the 24-year-old left-hander almost certainly hasn’t seen the last of this level.
Nor have his parents. When the Mets walked off the field following Wednesday’s loss, Paul and Julie were among those in the concourse waiting for their son. Though obviously disappointed in his performance, Zach still called his debut “everything you kind of dream about.”
Having Paul there was a significant part of that.
“It means everything to me,” Zach said. “He’s got his own battle … hopefully, he can bounce back.”