HEALING POWER

Jacob Macias was a kid with power. He blasted tennis balls over roofs with a baseball bat and awed neighborhood kids.

His older brother watched over him, and Jacob grew up admiring him.

But when Richard Macias, 19, was killed on Jan. 3, 1997, by a single gunshot to the back during a domestic dispute, the simple life of baseball suddenly became a way for Jacob to remember his brother.

Jacob, 18, still has power. The Santa Paula High senior holds season and career home run records at a school that has fielded baseball teams for more than a century.

As Macias’ power in baseball opened a door to his future, his power over his emotions has helped him close the door on the past. He enjoyed one of the best seasons in Santa Paula history.

“[Richard] was always my role model,” Macias said. “Everything he did, I did.”

The journey has come to fruition. Macias led the Cardinals (12-13) into the playoffs on Friday, where they lost, 9-4, to host Lompoc in a first-round Southern Section Division IV game. He hit his ninth home run.

“I know [his brother is] on his mind constantly, but he’s very reserved about it,” Santa Paula Coach Gerry Sandoval said. “There’s no emotion when he plays. If he strikes out with the bases loaded, he comes back to the bench the same way he would come back if he hit a home run.”

Macias’ steady approach has helped him become a feared hitter. His .449 batting average is believed to be a school record, besting Brent Cookson, among only two players from Santa Paula who have played in the major leagues. Cookson hit .424 in 1987.

Macias has 18 home runs in his career, including three in one game last month. His 44 runs batted in this season and 88 for his career are school records.

Macias’ success is a tribute to his brother and a triumph over the grief that engulfed his family.

“It affected him emotionally every day, but he never took it to the game with him,” said catcher Sammy Guzman, who grew up with Macias. “He just plays.”

Sports provided a place where Macias could heal. He played football, basketball and baseball for four years at Santa Paula.

“Sports . . . was always where I could take my anger out,” Macias said. “In football, you hit the other guy as hard as you could. In basketball, you ran as hard as you could. In baseball, you hit the ball as hard as you can.”

Macias hit seven home runs and batted .484 as a sophomore. After hitting only two home runs as a junior, he renewed his focus this year and learned to hit off-speed pitches.

“He has been able to bounce back from a lot of stuff other kids wouldn’t have been able to,” said Sandoval, 25, in his third year as the Cardinals’ coach.

“By his junior year, he started to open up. I felt at that point, for him to say something, he would continue to improve. I think that helped become a turning point. His brother became a motivation.”

The chapter closed when Jaime Arias, 25, of Fillmore was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 52 years to life in prison in February 2000. Richard Macias went to discuss child care with the mother of his 2-year-old son and began fighting with Arias, the woman’s boyfriend. Arias pulled a gun and shot Richard as he tried to flee the woman’s home.

Jacob immersed himself in sports after Arias’ conviction. Because he never concentrated solely on baseball, his talent is largely unrefined.

“He’s a guy who gets to me two weeks before the season starts and does it on raw talent,” Sandoval said. “You look at his swing and wonder how he does it, but he’s got the quickest hands I’ve seen in this program. When he gets to the next level, they’re going to be able to fix his swing.”

Macias is planning to follow in the footsteps of Cookson and play baseball at Ventura College. He hopes to become a Division I player and get a shot at professional baseball.

Always near is the memory of Richard, who undoubtedly would be proud of the kid brother who progressed from blasting tennis balls over Victorian homes to hitting baseballs over ballpark fences.

“Everything I do in baseball, I do for him and I do for my family,” Macias said. “I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”