You will read this line in every Adam Greenberg story, including this one.
This is a great story for anyone who believes in second chances!
In the film Field Of Dreams, as in real life, Archibald “Moonlight” Graham who appeared as a right fielder in a single major league game for the New York Giants, but never got an at-bat. Through some combination of Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and time-traveling magics, a young Archie gets a second chance to play against some of the best players of his day. After some sage advice from Shoeless Joe Jackson, Graham hits a sac fly to right, scoring a run and jogging back to his bench to a chorus of “AWRIGHT, KID,” or whatever dead people from the 20s would say.
Adam Greenberg got an at-bat, but it wasn’t something he’d like to remember. The then-Chicago Cub was blasted in the head with a 92-mph fastball during the first pitch of his MLB career. Through some combination of gusty determination, six years in the Independent Leagues and a generous opportunity from the Miami Marlins, Greenberg was given a one-day contract to appear in Miami’s game against the New York Mets on Tuesday. The video is below. Cue the Field of Dreams music.
A strike-out on three pitches. The worst part is that it dropped his lifetime OBP from 1.000 to .500. Not exactly an heroic sacrifice fly to prove his worth to the all-time greats, but this isn’t about what happened at the plate, this is a great story for anyone who believes in second chances.
And hey, it didn’t end with him giving up his youth to save Ozzie Guillen from choking on a hot dog.
