Friday, May 03, 2013

Jimmy Rollins: Good Guy

Received this email from a former co-worker: My nephew's son, a pitcher on a 14U traveling baseball team, was playing in a tournament last Saturday in Maryland. He was hit in the head by a line drive. His skull was fractured. He had to have emergency surgery, and, as things go, he was close to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. They had to replace part of his skull with a plastic plate of some sort....his skull bone eventually will grow back. He never lost consciousness, and there has been no brain damage. He is now home, and doing well.

Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies somehow heard about Brady's accident, and has been in touch via text wishing him well....a BIG thrill as Brady is a Phillies fan.

As much as Will pitched over the past eight years, he really only had two close calls on the mound. When he was 13 or 14 he was pitching up at Woodstock's Hobgood Park, and was hit square on the thigh by a line drive. He had to be replaced on the mound, but didn't miss a turn at the plate. He was back out on the field the next inning.

Several years later Will played for East Cobb Baseball. While pitching against one of the top teams in the country, a batter lined one hard right back at him. Will quickly contorted his body parallel to the ground, and he barely avoided being hit. Looked like Wile E. Coyote. But like the cartoon, Will then fell three feet straight down and landed on the dirt with a thud. Will stayed in the game, and was the only pitcher on his team to not allow an earned run.

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