East Carolina Athlete Becomes First Amputee To Play Division I Baseball

"It was surreal."

Less than two years ago, Parker Byrd lost his leg - and almost his life - in a boating accident.

Last month, Byrd took the field as an East Carolina University Pirate, becoming the first ever amputee to play in a Division I baseball game.

“It was very surreal,” Byrd said. “Just the feeling to be back out there and playing after a year and a half of doubts and hard days . . .  It was awesome.”

Byrd was recruited to play baseball at East Carolina when he was in ninth grade in Laurinburg, North Carolina.  

“I knew ECU was where I wanted to go,” Byrd said, and since both of his parents went to college there, committing to play baseball was an easy decision for him.

The summer before his freshman year of college, Byrd moved into the dorms at East Carolina alongside his baseball teammates, “to get acclimated to the new environment.” One weekend that summer, on a trip to one of his teammate’s river homes, Byrd was pulled under a friend’s boat and got caught in the propeller.

Despite the “quick action” of his friends who “tied tourniquets” around his legs to stop the bleeding, Byrd’s injuries were so severe he had to be airlifted to a hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.

Byrd underwent 22 surgeries in 45 days and a rollercoaster of emotions. While doctors initially thought they’d be able to save both of his legs, when blood stopped returning from his foot, doctors had to amputate his right leg.

He assumed his baseball career was over and told his mom he didn’t think he’d ever be able to play again because there hadn’t ever been a Division I player with a prosthetic leg.

His mom, without hesitation said, “Well, there always has to be a first. Why can’t it be you?”

When Byrd got out of the hospital, his mom’s words still fresh in his mind, he immediately went to work toward his ultimate goal to play baseball again.

“At first I was in a wheelchair so I’d just go down to the batting cages and watch the velocity of the ball off a pitching machine,” Byrd said.

Eventually he graduated to a walker and then he tried one handed drills on a stool. He got his first prosthetic in December 2022 and a second prosthetic that was better equipped for baseball in March 2023.

Byrd worked with a team of physical therapists, trainers and coaches and on February 16, 19 months after his accident, he made his college debut in the Pirates’ home opener.

Byrd, now a sophomore, came into the game in the 8th inning as a pinch hitter and was walked and eventually replaced by a pinch runner. The crowd - a sellout - erupted in cheers and applause.

“I was very blessed to have a bunch of people in my life that supported me the whole way through,” Byrd said. “I was never able to get too emotionally down just because they showed so much hope.”

Byrd said he can’t wait to get back out on the field again and still has more to achieve in his baseball career. But he’s confident his experience has paved the way for something bigger than the game.

"To have paved the way for other amputees and people with limb differentials or really just disabilities in general is just really cool,” Byrd said.

“My goal in life now is to inspire others.” 

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