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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘This Is Not A Freak Show’ Man Born Without Legs Fulfills Dream, While Former Big-League Stars Try To Recapture Theirs

From Wire Reports

Dave Stevens never will get a chance to fulfill his dream of playing right field in Yankee Stadium. He will get to play for a few days with someone who did.

Stevens, born without legs 30 years ago, is trying out for the independent league St. Paul Saints alongside former major league stars Jack Morris and Darryl Strawberry.

Strawberry, an eight-time All-Star whose career tumbled because of substance abuse problems, played with the Yankees last season.

“I’m in awe,” Stevens said before the Saints’ first practice Thursday. “This is magical, but I’ve got to get over it because I’ve got a job to do.”

Stevens played high school baseball as well as football and wrestling as a teenager outside Phoenix. He wrestled and played football - he was a reserve nose tackle - at Augsburg (Minn.) College.

“We were crappy then,” said Stevens, a producer at ESPN who previously worked for a Twin Cities television station. Stevens has practiced with the Saints in the past. Manager Marty Scott and president Mike Veeck, son of eccentric former major league owner Bill Veeck, decided to give Stevens a chance to meet his dream of playing professional baseball.

They got a roster exemption from the Northern League, something the late Bill Veeck couldn’t get from the major leagues in 1951 when he signed midget Eddie Gaedel. Veeck and Scott have promised Stevens at least one appearance in one of the Saints’ four exhibition games, the first of which is Monday at Midway Stadium.

Stevens has no chance to make the team, which begins its regular season May 31.

“This is not a freak show; it’s not a joke,” Stevens said. “This is very real to me. This is very important to me. I’m here to fulfill a dream.”

Stevens’ disability is a result of thalidomide, a drug once widely used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women. He propels himself with his hands, swinging his muscular torso through his arms.

Doctors told him in high school that playing sports was too much for his arms and shoulders, and he acknowledges his athletic endeavors have taken a toll.

“It’s been a good ride, but this is it,” Stevens said. “This is the last hurrah. My body can’t take it any more.”

Whether this is the last hurrah for Morris and Strawberry remains to be seen.

Morris threw crisply during a brief stint on the bullpen mound. He consistently kept his pitches down, conjuring images of burrowing away at the low regions of the strike zone.

His off-speed pitches were not quite as sharp as his sinking fastball, but, hey, Thursday was Morris’ 41st birthday. He has been inactive since a brief stint with Cincinnati, his fifth major-league team, last year.

“Jack means business,” said manager Marty Scott, who announced Morris would start the third game of the season June 2 at Duluth. That will allow Morris to start the home opener June 7 against Winnipeg on his usual four days’ rest.

“St. Paul is Jack’s hometown. There will be a festive atmosphere and a full house for the home opener,” Scott said. “I know he has been in much bigger situations, but I think his juices will flow pretty good in that setting.”

Strawberry, 34, took a few rounds of batting practice and looked impressive, probably just because of his stature. While several of the younger players swung with all their might, Strawberry showed a veteran’s patience. His swings were maybe 75 percent torque, almost as if hitting fungos. The man with 297 major-league home runs was just looking to get his timing down, to get the feel of bat meeting ball.

Nonetheless, Strawberry rocked several drives to the warning track in right and deep center. He left onlookers feeling that if he would swing like he will in a game, he would hit the ball to Stillwater. But that remains to be seen. This was, after all, still just batting practice.

“I am happy with how I feel in the cage,” Strawberry said. “No need to rush anything. I am not worried in the least about whether I can still play.”