Alright…this is my favorite story so far from Spring Training.
Thursday, Daniel "Doc" Jacobs tried out for a spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but unlike the countless others that hit the field at Camelback Ranch…dude is a disabled Navy veteran.
You see, seven years and three days 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 27 years old, is back on his feet (well, one of them, his left foot is a prosthetic) fielding grounders while Dodgers scouts look on. But, Jacobs, who once had dreams of playing in the Majors, wasn't out there to impress the scouts.
"It's all about the experience, and letting America and these guys know that not all disabled veterans are going to be a statistic in the news," Jacobs told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. "I'm here to combat the suicide rate, homicide rate, divorce rate statistics. I just want to get out there and prove to America there are awesome disabled veterans out there and we are making a stand against that."
Do yourself a favor and check out some pictures from Jacobs' day…just CLICK HERE!
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