Parker Byrd, a sophomore at East Carolina College who misplaced his leg in a boating accident two years in the past, turned the primary particular person to play in a DI baseball recreation with a prosthetic leg.
He debuted for the Pirates within the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter of their 16-2 win final evening.
“It is among the proudest moments I’ve ever had as a coach,” Cliff Godwin, supervisor of the workforce, stated in an on-field interview with WCTI-TV, reported by ESPN. “And he’s going to get some extra. He has labored his tail off, it was tremendous emotional. The umpire behind dwelling plate advised me once I was making a change he has been umpiring for 17-18 years and it’s the coolest second he has ever been part of.”
In the summertime of 2022, Byrd’s legs have been lower by a ship propeller, leading to shedding his proper one. He had 22 surgical procedures in a 45-day window, proving that restoration was going to be an extended street. In December of that very same 12 months, he acquired his prosthetic leg. 19 months later, he was capable of stroll as much as dwelling plate to swing.
“I imply chill bumps man, it’s completely phenomenal,” Byrd stated after the sport. “This crowd, these followers, these individuals, my household, my teammates, coaches I actually couldn’t be extra grateful and blessed.”
After the video of him enjoying went viral on social media, many reached out to Byrd and provided their help. One particular person was former New York Yankee Jim Abbott, a pitcher who was born with out his proper hand.
“Effectively carried out Parker! Nothing can cease you!” he wrote on X.