Over the last few days, a 14-year old baseball player is making headlines across the country. His name is Luke Terry, and he’s good! The reason people are talking about him, though, is because Luke only has one arm. When he was 19 months old he contracted E. Coli and had his right arm amputated. Does it look like it’s slowed him down much? I don’t think so.
When stories like this hit the mainstream, I usually get a little frustrated. The kid has one arm. Yes, that’s definitely newsworthy. But he is also an incredible athlete! There are stories of athletes all over the world who are labeled “physically disabled” or “physically challenged.” As I watched a show on ESPN, one of the anchors referred to Luke as “differently abled,” and I thought that was better. This isn’t an inspiring moment of the team equipment manager who gets to come out and shoot an easy layup as his team is up by 30 points in the 4th quarter. Those stories are incredible in their own right (and typically make my eyes well up,) but Luke Terry… this kid has a cannon.
Watch the video below and tell me whether you think this is a “cute and heartwarming” story of some kid being given a chance to play a sport with his friends. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that he won that spot fair and square by being the best player on the team. He bats third in the line-up, folks! That’s not a favor the coach is giving him because he “has a disability.” Luke Terry lost his arm when he was 19 months old. All he’s known is life with one arm. And he still learned to play the game better than I ever could! So while you may see an athlete with one arm, I see an extremely talented ball player.
Is he “differently abled?” Sure! He can throw you out trying to steal second OR be different and pick you off on your way to third base. Get it, Luke. You’re an awesome, and I’m stoked to see you continue to succeed!
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