Summer’s not summer without a little baseball, and students at Colonial Middle School recently got in on America’s favorite pastime by seeing if they could hit a pitch off of former Major League Baseball’s Mike MacDougal.
Mr. MacDougal visited as part of a free program called “Perseverance and Hard Work,” which is offered to schools by J.P. Mascaro & Sons, the waste management company based in Audubon. The former athlete, who is the son-in-law of company President Pat Mascaro, shared what he’s learned about overcoming obstacles in his professional career in the hopes of encouraging students attending Summer Academy to find ways to work through their own challenges.
Raised in Arizona, Mr. MacDougal attended Wake Forest University on a baseball scholarship and quickly rose to prominence as a starting pitcher there. He was later inducted into the university’s Baseball Hall of Fame. Drafted in 1999 by the Kansas City Royals as a starting pitcher, Mr. MacDougal began his professional baseball career with great promise. But two years into his time with the Royals, he was struck in the head by a bat and suffered a non-displaced skull fracture that led to a serious professional setback.
The injury caused him to have difficulty gripping a baseball, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Through dedication and perseverance, he worked his way back to becoming a relief pitcher and had a successful 12-year career with Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox, the Washington Nationals, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Following his talk, Mr. MacDougal spent a little time pitching to students, who were eager to step up to the plate to try their luck against a pro athlete. Fortunately for the students, Mr. MacDougal held off the “wicked slider” he is known for and allowed for quite a few impressive hits from students who were cheered on by their peers.