Adam Greenberg to Get His "One At-Bat"

Baseball is poetic, and it does not always have a happy ending; but luckily for Adam Greenberg, this story does...

So many young players dream of taking their first Major League at-bat, but few ever reach that goal. However, Greenberg did at the age of 24 for the Chicago Cubs. However, his Major League debut lasted only one pitch. Greenberg was hit in the head by a pitch from Valerio De Los Santos of the then Florida Marlins. The injuries suffered from this pitch kept him from being able to return to the game that he loves.

Yet, seven years later, Greenberg has gotten back into his elite athletic form. He was in the process of trying to get back to the majors; a difficult feat for a 31-year-old centerfielder. In addition, there is no such thing as a “one day contract” in MLB. Thus, a team would have to sign Greenberg to a contract and add him to the 40-man roster in order to bring him back to the game.

Enter filmmaker and avid Chicago Cubs fan Matt Liston.

Liston made a documentary and started a campaign to get Greenberg a chance to hit in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs. He simply called it, “One At-Bat.” The video became wildly popular, and over 25,000 people ended up signing the online petition to get Greenberg his AB. Unfortunately, the Cubs were not interested in obliging.

Greenberg’s comeback chances were looking bleak until this morning. While Greenberg and Liston were doing an interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show, a special guest appeared during the interview. David Sampson, the president of the Miami Marlins, joined the interview and shared some amazing news. He informed Greenberg that the Marlins were going to sign him to a one-day contract, and that he would indeed get his one at-bat this coming Tuesday (October 2nd) against the New York Mets and NL Cy Young favorite R.A. Dickey. Bud Selig approved an exception to the one-day contract so that this opportunity could happen.

So, regardless of how his at-bat turns out next week, this will show that hard work and perseverance CAN win out. Salute to Adam Greenberg. Salute to Matt Liston. Salute to the fan. Salute to the Miami Marlins. The baseball world will be watching...