It takes determination to make it in professional baseball, and one blind MLB pitcher is going to need an extra dose of it to get back to the level of play he once thought was ahead of him. Juan Sandoval lost the sight in his right eye in 2006 after being shot, but he hasn't given up his dreams of being a professional baseball player. Yahoo! Sports shared the latest on this impressive player who hasn't stopped surprising people.
Getting a spot to play with the Tampa Bay Rays hasn't been an easy path for Juan Sandoval, who has been playing in the Mexican League for the past couple of years. He had bounced around a bit with U.S. teams after the shooting took his sight from his right eye, but none of the teams stuck by his side. The blind MLB pitcher, however, didn't give up on playing baseball. He fought hard after the accident to redevelop the skills he needed, and he caught the attention of Rays pitcher Joel Peralta.
Peralta brought Sandoval to the attention of Andrew Friedman, the Rays general manager, and things developed from there. So far Sandoval's Rays teammates seem to be on-board with his presence on the team, as he's been impressive in his performances. Will he have what it takes to make it through spring training and take the mound during the regular season?
That much remains to be seen, but it sounds like Sandoval is going to do whatever he can to make the most of this opportunity. While people are buzzing right now about the blind MLB pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays, soon it seems they may be buzzing about the strong arm of Juan Sandoval, with his eyesight challenges being a true sidenote.
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