(Patrick Murphy had a strong sophomore season, earning a starting job on the Trinity Catholic High School baseball team. Murphy wrote about his experiences playing this summer).
By Patrick Murphy
Now that high school baseball is over, I have been playing for the Stamford Redbirds, a travel team for 15-year-olds in Babe Ruth. This team is managed by Jimmy Serafina, and the other coaches are Mike Beldotti, Bobby Gerbert, Jim Lyman and my father.
Recently, my team went away for a tournament called War at the Shore in East Lyme over the Fourth of July weekend. We were supposed to play two games Friday and one game Saturday. Our first game was at 11:30 a.m. Friday against a team called “The Hit Club.”
Unfortunately, during the game I suffered an injury. I had hit a slow, ground ball up the first base line. I sprinted out of the batter’s box and was halfway up the line before the pitcher had even gotten to the ball. While running, I felt a pop in my hip.
I fell to the ground screaming in intense pain. My coaches carried me off the field and I laid down on the ground because I truly was in agony. I’ve broken a few bones before and pulled a muscle, but nothing compared to this pain.
We lost the game, 6-5, but that was the least of my concerns. My dad drove me to the nearest hospital, where I had X-rays taken and was given some strong pain medication.
The good news was nothing appeared broken, but I had to see an orthopedic doctor on Monday. He sent me to Stamford Hospital for an MRI, which took about an hour.
I just got the results back and was told that I fractured a piece of my growth plate and that a small piece of bone had broken off. I will be on crutches for another week or two and am not allowed to do any physical activity like running for the next four weeks. I will have to go to physical therapy for the rest of the summer, ending any shot of playing baseball again this summer.
I am going to continue going to practices and games as our All-Star team is on the verge of winning Districts and advancing to the States. I am also going to work hard on my rehab to get myself ready to play football in the fall for Coach Stokes and Trinity Catholic.
Patrick is a very exciting player, and our team will miss him a whole lot this summer. But he keeps showing up to support his team, this is a sign of a true team player. He had a great sophmore season at TCHS, but everyone should look forward to the next two years as this kid just keeps getting better everytime he steps on the field. I wish him the best of luck in recovery for this injury. I just wish he knew how to spell my last name! -Coach
Comment by Jim Serafino — July 13th, 2009 @ 6:42 am