Basking in a celebration befitting a hometown hero, Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. stood inside the gymnasium last December at Mid-Carolina High School in Prosperity, S.C., surrounded by so many familiar, smiling faces.
Yet the one who wasn’t there impacted Edwards most as he pondered the final question of an interview conducted in front of the crowd of 200.
How did that incident six years ago affect your life?
On Dec. 12, 2010, Will Bedenbaugh — Edwards’ best friend, confidant and catcher growing up in the town of 1,184 people — died in a car accident at the age of 19.
"We grew up together, he was like an older brother,” recalled Edwards, who wears a bracelet with Will’s name on it.
A year younger than Bedenbaugh, Edwards always planned to join his buddy at Charleston Southern University before the tragedy changed the course of everything. Instead, Edwards entered the baseball draft after wearing Will’s No. 3 for his senior season, the number their high school retired on the night a proud community honored its World Series champion.
"When C.J. was asked that question at that end of the event, he couldn’t go on because he was so emotional,” Sherry Bedenbaugh, Will’s mother, said in a phone interview. "I had no idea how raw his feelings were or how much it had inspired him until that moment.”
Sherry Bedenbaugh
11-year-old Carl Edwards (bottom right) with his best friend Will Bedenbaugh (top row, middle) on their little league team in South Carolina in 2003.
11-year-old Carl Edwards (bottom right) with his best friend Will Bedenbaugh (top row, middle) on their little league team in South Carolina in 2003.
(Sherry Bedenbaugh)
In the biggest moment of Edwards’ career — the 10th inning of World Series Game 7 against the Indians — he recalled mustering resolve from Will’s memory. Edwards stepped behind the mound, closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and followed a ritual those who know him best recognized.
"I did the same thing I always have done ever since I’ve been drafted,” Edwards said. "I just asked the man upstairs to give me confidence and thought of my grandma that passed, my granddaddy, all my lost relatives … and Will.”
From Little League through high school, Will Bedenbaugh always had a knack for calming Edwards. He was the guy who knew exactly what to say, the friend who got him to like country music enough to make Zac Brown Band’s "Chicken Fried" his walk-up song. He was his emotional anchor. So in the most nerve-wracking moment of Edwards’ young career, as he felt the weight of Cubs history, the 25-year-old naturally relied on what always worked in the past.
"He told me in the minors he would talk to Will on the mound,” Sherry said. "He would take his hat off, say a prayer and talk to Will. He told me once, he says what he used to say when Will was his catcher: ‘It’s just you and me, dude.’ ”
When Edwards took the mound in Game 7, Sherry’s tears started to flow back in South Carolina. When Edwards flew the "W" amid the postgame bedlam, she knew the letter on the flag carried a special significance.
"When he came into Game 7, I said out loud, ‘Will, he made it,’ ” she said. "He was living Will’s dream too.”
His nerves steeled, Edwards retired two Indians batters before walking Brandon Guyer and giving up an RBI single to Rajai Davis. Lefty Mike Montgomery replaced Edwards and recorded the save for posterity but the experience still goes down as a good one for the man being groomed as the future Cubs closer — one that emboldens him as he begins his first full season in the majors.
Game 7 Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards delivers to the Indians’ Mike Napoli in the bottom of the 10th inning during Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2, 2016.
Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards delivers to the Indians’ Mike Napoli in the bottom of the 10th inning during Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2, 2016.
(Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
"I just need to let myself know I belong here, don’t go out and see big name guys and back off,” Edwards said. "My goal is to go out there with more confidence than I had last year.”
Watching Aroldis Chapman intimidate hitters for three months with a swagger as distinctive as his 105-mph fastball made an impression on Edwards. Somewhat surprisingly, so did listening to Chapman all those nights in the bullpen.
"People looked at him as a bad person for that (domestic-violence) incident but he was great to me and showed me how to approach every day like it’s just another game,” Edwards said. "That’s something I look forward to being like one day. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
The Rangers’ 48th round choice of the 2011 amateur draft knows patience as well as he does persistence. A scout familiar with Edwards as a high school pitcher found more convincing evidence when the skinny teenager started a few games for the Newberry Pirates, an unaffiliated team made up of local adults still playing for their love of the game. Edwards’ catcher was his uncle Chuck. After the 16-year-old’s dominant mound debut, the legend of the "String Bean Slinger" was born, a career path charted.
"I think of how far I’ve come all the time,” said Edwards, traded to the Cubs in 2013 as part of the Matt Garza deal. "I played high school playing community baseball, they call it sandlot — don’t call it bush league — because it’s different but was a great experience for me.”
The best seems yet to come for Edwards, feeling refreshed after a winter cruise and reveling with pride over his 1-year-old daughter, Ava, and fiancee, Anquinette. The right-hander’s biggest concerns these days involve keeping weight on his 172-pound frame, which remains lean despite an offseason that included loading up on some of his mom’s favorite Southern home-cooking: macaroni and cheese, cornbread and cabbage.
"Some food sticks and some food don’t,” Edwards said, smiling.
Nobody worries about Edwards’ strength.
dhaugh@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @DavidHaugh
Photos from Game 7 of the World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Nov. 2, 2016.
Photos as the Cubs practice at spring training in Mesa, Ariz.
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