Adam Greenberg’s Second Chance

On October 2^nd, Adam Greenberg stepped up to the plate with the nerves of a rookie in his Miami Marlins uniform. Really, he is no rookie; it’s been seven years since his first at bat in the MLB. But the at bat he had in early October was only his second of all time.

On July 9^th, 2005, in a Chicago Cubs uniform, Greenberg was struck under his right ear during his first time at the professional plate. It left him with vision problems and years of working in the minors. The blow was life altering, and almost major league career ending, if not for the work of Matt Liston and the kindness of the Marlins. Matt Liston, a filmmaker, developed a campaign to get an MLB team to sign Adam for one day, giving him another shot at the plate.

The Cubs, Adam’s former employer, did not take to the idea, and refused. The Marlins however, need this story of inspiration almost as much as Adam. With a new ballpark and new players, the team was hoping for a great season. A great season was not what they had though, and the team has turned to Adam for a little bit of good press.

To return the act of kindness, Adam will donate his salary from one day of work to the Marlin’s foundation dedicated to researching brain injuries in players, a cause close to Greenberg’s heart.

Greenberg’s response to his whole story was kindly composed with the wisdom of a man who has been playing ball for years, “Life’s going to throw you curveballs, or fastballs to the back of your head. I got hit by one of them. It knocked me down, and I could have stayed there. I had a choice, and I could have said, ‘Poor me, that’s horrible.’ But I chose to get up and get back in the box. And that’s kind of the message to everyone: no matter what is going on in their own personal life, or anything, get back up, keep going. If you do that, good things do happen. Sometimes it takes seven years. But you know what? Anything is possible.”

On October 2^nd, in a game against the New York Mets, Greenberg had a second chance to, rather than let the ball knock him down, knock the ball out of the park.

Unfortunately, Greenberg had merely a 33 second long at-bat. He struck out. But for him it was less about the results, and more about the opportunity.