Bases Loaded Batting Cages

This MLB player was cut from his high school AND college team.

In fact, didn’t make the varsity team until his senior year of high school.

Even then, he barely got any playing time.

In those days, he said that he was painfully shy.

He never spoke in class, never went to a school function, and didn’t go on his first date til he was 23 years old.

He ended up at a local community college, where he tried out for the baseball team, hoping for a better outcome.

Instead, he was put on the team’s “taxi squad” as a bullpen catcher.

He sat on the bench and kept the book for a season, watching as pitchers played the field over him.

But according to an old scouting report, he batted .333 in college. And it was accurate.

He got 3 pinch-hit at-bats that season and recorded one hit.

But he refused to give up.

When he heard that the Chicago White Sox were hosting an “all-comers” open tryout, he showed up.

And while his physical tools were mediocre, the scouts liked that he could play pretty much any position.

He said later that his versatility was the only reason he ever got a chance.

Years later, he ran into old high school teammates. They’d all ask him the same thing:

“How did you ever make it (to the major leagues)? You were terrible. You couldn’t play.”

But they underestimated his work ethic.

After a slow start in the big leagues, a new batting stance and commitment to the weight room transformed his career.

He was one of the first big leaguers to focus on year-round bodybuilding. He installed a batting cage in his backyard and a gym in his home.

And he developed such an impressive physique that fans started calling him "The Incredible Hulk".

His name is Brian Downing.

He played 20 years in the big leagues & left the Angels as the franchise’s all-time leader in almost every offensive category.

🐶

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