Parker Byrd nearly died in a boating accident in 2022. He made his miraculous return to the diamond less than two years later.
Byrd graduated from high school in 2022 and upon leaving Scotland High in Laurinburg, North Carolina, he was rated by Perfect Game as prospect number 329 in the high school class of 2022, 76th overall at shortstop. The East Carolina commit was viewed as a possible MLB draft prospect when he finished his college career.
But during that summer he suffered an accident while sailing. He underwent countless surgeries and ultimately required amputation of his right leg below the knee. There was no guarantee he would return to the baseball diamond after the procedure.
Byrd did not play as a freshman for the Pirates, but on Friday, entering his sophomore year, he appeared in a game for the first time as a college baseball player, appearing at the plate in a contest against Rider.
How did Byrd go from accident to returning to Division I baseball? Here’s what you need to know.
Parker Byrd accident
On July 23, 2022, Byrd was floating on the back of a boat when he and a friend fell out of the tube. according to WITN. Byrd’s friend returned safely to the ship. Byrd attempted to return to the boat, but as he did so, the rope became caught in the propeller and dragged him toward it.
Byrd said the propeller cut his right leg and hit him lightly on his left leg. according to WITN.
“I felt it happen, but I was in shock. Just all the adrenaline,” Byrd said, according to WITN.
His friends reportedly pulled him out of the water and used shirts to tie his severed legs before another boat came toward him. There was a nurse on the boat, who added more tourniquets to his legs as he was taken to a marina. He was then taken to a hospital in Washington and flown to Greenville.
Byrd’s girlfriend called his parents and told him to come to Greenville, believing he was dying, a concern Byrd shared.
“I was sure I was going to die in the helicopter. I felt my energy leave my body,” Byrd said, according to WITN. “It was like my body was, my soul was up there and my body was still there and I was kind of laying there.”
His parents, Mitzi and Jeff Byrd, were two and a half hours away.
“I think about that day a lot,” Jeff Byrd said, according to WITN. “And like… how getting that phone call changed our whole world.”
The next two months were filled with surgeries. Mitzi Byrd posted on Facebook that on August 4, a doctor told him that his calf muscle was dying because it was not receiving enough blood flow. He said the plan would be to amputate below the knee and warned against waiting, saying it risked Byrd becoming even sicker.
A second doctor agreed and the plan was to amputate half of the calf, although that could change while they waited to see which muscles could be saved. He had the procedure in August 4, 2022, to suffer a below-knee amputation in his right leg. It was his eighth total surgery.
“This is hard. I’m not going to lie, this is REALLY hard. Parker is trying to process it and we are trying to process it,” Mitzi Byrd said in the post. “I begged God to do a miracle, but we have to trust his plan. God knew what his story would be before P took his first breath. He gave us a miracle on July 23 by saving P’s life and just for “That, I will be forever grateful and praising him.”
Although there was concern that Byrd would end up needing to lose his leg above the knee, the below-knee operation ended up being the only amputation he needed.
In all, Byrd ended up suffering 22 surgeries in 54 days.
“The first 15 seemed to happen every day,” Parker said, according to WITN.
Although he lost his leg, he remained determined to return to the field.
“Just because you lost a leg doesn’t mean you lost hope or you lost your heart,” Byrd said, according to WITN. “So I’m going to try to do everything I can to get back on the field.”
East Carolina manager Cliff Godwin has supported Byrd throughout the process. He was among the first to be at the Greenville hospital after Byrd suffered his accident.
“I think from the beginning he was one of the first people to arrive at the hospital. When everything happened and he was there the whole time,” Byrd said. “He came to see me in the hospital when he had my bad days. He’s been great.”
Following his procedures, Byrd began the work of returning to the field. And in March 2023, Mitzi Byrd announced in a Facebook post that Byrd would be fitted with a prosthetic leg with a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
The leg was made by David Rotter, who specially prepared Byrd for the prosthesis.
Parker Byrd Super Bowl Commercial
Byrd’s journey was shared in an ad that aired just before the Super Bowl. The commercial showed him taking batting practice from a wheelchair and working out.
Upon receiving the grant for the prosthesis, Byrd could be seen continuing his efforts to return to the field, including fielding ground balls and preparing to take batting practice.
The ad was purchased in only one market: Greenville, and ran before the game. Bob Babbitt, co-founder of CAF, said in a statement that the ad cost just $500, a fraction of the $14 million it would cost to run a 60-second in-game ad nationwide.
“Parker Byrd’s journey embodies the spirit of resilience that defines the Challenged Athletes Foundation,” Babbitt said in the release. “By highlighting his story on Superbowl Sunday in Greenville, our goal is to inspire the local community and beyond by demonstrating that challenges can be overcome with determination and support.”
PARKER BYRD | COFFEE POINT of Machine Age Media in Vimeo.
Parker Byrd at bat
On Friday, February 16, Byrd made an unlikely return. In the bottom of the eighth, Byrd walked to the plate, pinch-hitting for designated hitter Chaz Myers.
In doing so, he became the first player in NCAA Division I history to take an at-bat with a prosthetic leg.
That. One moment. ??☠️@parkerbyrd11 pic.twitter.com/qqkzVjfktj
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 16, 2024
Byrd saw the first pitch go by, then threw four in a row to walk and earn a walk in his first college plate appearance.
Parker Byrd walked in his first at-bat. Emotional night on Opening Day of Pirate baseball! @ECUBaseball pic.twitter.com/RKAYGXnwqa
—Brian Bailey (@bbaileywnct) February 16, 2024
“I mean the chills, man, it’s absolutely phenomenal,” Byrd said after the game. by ESPN. “This crowd, these fans, these people, my family, my teammates, coaches, I really couldn’t be more grateful and blessed.”
Byrd’s family was on hand to watch the moment he appeared at home plate, and then had the junglers jump into the stands to celebrate.
All the feelings while the Byrd family watched @parkerbyrd11 enters the batters box for the first time ?? pic.twitter.com/G5h3kwR7wG
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 17, 2024
The first jungle jump of the season couldn’t have been better ??☠️@parkerbyrd11 pic.twitter.com/2tgt0BzR0A
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 17, 2024
“It’s one of the proudest moments I’ve ever had as a coach,” Godwin said in an on-field interview with WCTI-TV, according to ESPN. “And he’s going to get more. He’s worked hard, it was very emotional. The umpire behind home plate told me when he was making a change, he’s been umpiring for 17 or 18 years and it’s the coolest moment he’s ever had. I have been a part.”