Calif. jury awards former MLB pitcher $2.3M after hand broken in assault

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- "No doubt in my mind I'd still be playing if this hadn't happened."

Greg Reynolds was 29 and living his dream as a Major League baseball pitcher. But an attack by a drugged out 19-year-old cut short a promising career.

It was January 2015. Dominic Pintarelli had a bad LSD trip after taking the drug at a party held at a friend's home here at Ocean Colony.

"He was taking off his clothes. he was screaming profanities, Reynolds told ABC7news.

Niall Mccarthy is Reynold's lawyer. He said, "Pinterelli had tackled a mailbox before Greg encountered him."

When Reynolds went out to help him, Pinterelli attacked him. He chased Reynolds back into his home. Pinterelli tried to break down his front door.

Reynolds opened it to try and stop the intruder. "So I opened the door and I hit him one time. I knew right away after I hit him, my finger was pointing at a terrible direction."

Mccarthy added, "He broke his right hand, hurting his index finger and effectively ending his baseball career."

Pintarelli was eventually convicted for felony assault.

Reynolds sued him and the host of the party.

He went back to Stanford where he once played ball and got his college degree. He is now in finance.

The jury awarded him $2.3 million Monday -- a substantial amount, but perhaps too little for the price Reynolds paid.