Military Connection: Grace on the Field

Becoming a professional athlete takes a lot of skill and determination. To serve in the Armed Forces, skill and determination are just a few of the qualities needed to succeed. What happens when both career choices come together?

Daniel “Doc” Jacobs served in the U.S. Navy as a Corpsman attached to the Marines. Recently, he tried out for the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Jacobs, joined on the field by a slew of other hopeful chasing their dream to play for a professional team, trained for weeks. With so many players being evaluated, quick decisions have to be made, quashing more than a few players’ dreams, their professional careers reduced to just a few photos.

But Jacobs had made an impression. As he packed his gear, Tigers officials took the time to thank him for trying out, and for serving his country. He says the Tigers organization have been open and welcoming as an organization, something he appreciates.

At the ripe age of 29, Jacobs knew he would be a long shot to make the team. However, long shots don’t really mean anything to an Iraq War Veteran, who also happens to be an amputee.

Almost ten years ago, Jacobs was lying in a hospital bed in Bethesda after he was injured by an improvised explosive device. He lost his left leg, the toes on his right foot, and two fingertips on his left hand. He wasn’t expected to make a flight hope, then wasn’t expected to walk again, and then wasn’t expected to serve again. He did all of those things, and more. Jacobs says, “I’m just blessed to be here. Any day you can get out and play baseball is a good day, right?”

He adds that any time someone tells him he can’t do something, it just fuels his fire, “Once you get something in your mind, you’re pretty determined and you just go for it.”

Now discharged, Jacobs is trying to show other Veterans what athletics has helped him achieve. From hand-cycling the Miami Marathon in 2007, to running the Detroit half marathon on his prosthetic, and even trying out for the Dodgers and White Sox, Jacobs is unstoppable.

“I’m heavily involved in the nonprofit work just trying to get out there and get Veterans out in more productive, heathier aspects to living their life.” Jacobs says.

“Because sitting on the couch and feeling sorry for yourself, the survivor’s guilt and the stages of grieving, it’s terrible. Once you get inside your head, it’s a hard place to get out of. I just feel that if I can get out here and play baseball and get my story out there, then it can reach out to somebody else.”

He didn’t leave with a contract, but Jacobs, along with his cause, have been noticed. At the end of the day, this young man has displayed extreme skill, determination, and grace under pressure, both on the battlefield and on the baseball field.

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