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 one of the proudest moments I have ever had as a coach,” Cliff Godwin, supervisor of the group, stated in an on-field interview with WCTI-TV, reported by ESPN. “And he’s going to get some more. He has worked his tail off, it was super emotional. The umpire behind home plate told me when I was making a change he has been umpiring for 17-18 years and it is the coolest moment he has ever been a part of.”
In the summertime of 2022, Byrd’s legs have been minimize by a ship propeller, leading to dropping his proper one. He had 22 surgical procedures in a 45-day window, proving that restoration was going to be a protracted highway. In December of that very same yr, he obtained his prosthetic leg. 19 months later, he was capable of stroll as much as residence plate to swing.
“I mean chill bumps man, it’s absolutely phenomenal,” Byrd stated after the sport. “This crowd, these fans, these people, my family, my teammates, coaches I really could not be more thankful and blessed.”
After the video of him enjoying went viral on social media, many reached out to Byrd and provided their assist. One particular person was former New York Yankee Jim Abbott, a pitcher who was born with out his proper hand.
“Well done Parker! Nothing can stop you!” he wrote on X.
