Yo, this gives me goosebumps, for real.
That's Parker Byrd, and he's believed to be the first college baseball player to appear in a game with a prosthetic leg. Byrd is a member of the East Carolina University baseball team, and they put up 16 runs on opening day in their 16-2 trouncing of the Rider Broncs on Friday.
One of those runs came from a pinch runner who replaced Byrd on first base after he was walked in the 8th. The pinch runner gets credit for the run, but he wouldn't have been on base if it hadn't been for Parker Byrd.
In the bottom of the eighth inning of Friday's season opener for East Carolina University, sophomore Parker Byrd was called on to pinch-hit.
He would draw a walk on a 3-1 pitch that set off a wild round of applause, cheering and yelling from the 5,221 people in attendance. Byrd happily trotted over to first base before being replaced by a pinch-runner who would eventually score on a bases-loaded walk to give ECU a 13-2 lead …
While his time in the game was short, Byrd is now believed to be the first NCAA Division I baseball player to play in a game with a prosthetic leg.
Now let's get back to that at-bat.
3-1 count...
"Probably never be a louder applause for a walk."
And you love to see it!
Byrd was involved in a boating accident in July of 2022 in Bath, North Carolina. It resulted in the amputation of his right leg and led to dozens of surgeries to get him to where he is today. Last March, a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation allowed him to be fitted for his prosthetic, which was done in Chicago by David Rotter, one of the top prosthetists in the country.
Man, the fact that this kid was still able to make his dream of playing college baseball a reality after having his leg amputated in 2022 is just something out of a movie. And for him to be responsible for a run on opening day in 2024 — that makes it all the better.
Keep it up, Parker.
We're all rooting for you!
I'll leave you with this:
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