Monday, Daniel “Doc” Jacobs tried out for a spot with the Detroit Tigers. But unlike the countless others that hit the field in sunny Lakeland, Florida…dude is a disabled Navy veteran.
You see, nearly nine years prior to his tryout, Jacobs was on a battlefield in Ramadi, Iraq when an IED exploded beneath him. His body was left shattered, his left leg amputated from the knee down. The Marine with him…killed.
50 surgeries later, Jacobs, now 29 years old, is back on his feet (well, one of them, his left foot is a prosthetic) fielding grounders while Tigers scouts look on. But, Jacobs, who once had dreams of playing in the Majors, wasn’t out there to impress the scouts.
“They’re standing there with their clipboards, watching you. My first two cuts at the plate weren’t that great. Then I got in there and made a good connection,” Jacobs said. “I would love to make it, even if it’s just playing a Rookie league game or whatever, just to help out whatever I could. If not, then hey, I’m out here playing baseball in Florida, right?”
This isn’t the first time the San Diego resident has hit Spring Training. In the past two years, Jacobs has found himself trying out for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox.
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