Absolutely tragic story I had to cover this week

[EagerBeaver]

The past three days have been a bit tough on me in my job as a reporter.

To set the stage, on Tuesday there was a baseball game between Waynesville and Lebanon, two mid-Missouri towns who are rivals in the Ozark Conference. A young man named Patrick Clegg stepped up to bat for Waynesville, took a pitch high and inside, and as he turned to brace for impact, the ball hit the base of his skull right below the helmet.

I did not see the incident, but we were provided with the report from multiple people that said the pitch just got away from the pitcher. It initially looked like Clegg was going to be okay until he collapsed while he was walking toward first.

They called off the rest of the game and airlifted him to Springfield's St. Johns Hospital, where he was immediately brought to the Pediatric ICU and they hooked him up to a ventilator. He was only showing 10 percent brain activity, and the doctors said the pitch hit him right on the brain stem, causing massive brain damage. Doctors had to drill holes in his skull to relieve the pressure on Patrick's brain.

This happened Tuesday night...Wednesday we were told the family wanted to speak to the media. We sat down for an interview with Patrick's father Mike Clegg, an Army warrant officer stationed at Ft Leonard Wood, and he said there were encouraging signs and they were praying for a miracle. They would leave him on the ventilator overnight.

Also there Wednesday was the entire Lebanon baseball team and coaching staff. They took a bus over to St. Johns and wanted to meet with the family and friends to provide encouragement. We interviewed Lebanon's coach and he had said the pitcher who threw the fateful pitch was absolutely beside himself emotionally, despite many people telling him it was simply a freak accident.

Thursday came, and with it there was initially no change in Patrick's condition as he was still critical and hooked up to the ventilator. We were supposed to speak to the family again for an update at 2:30, but at the last minute we were called off.

"That's not good news," I remember telling one of my fellow reporters.

Three hours later, St. Johns Hospital would declare Patrick Clegg brain dead as his condition worsened through the afternoon.

Today, his organs were saved for donation and his family said their last goodbyes.

While that was going on, Waynesville took to the diamond for the first time since the accident. They did so saying it was what their fallen teammate would want them to do, and there were reminders of him everywhere as they wrote his number 27 on every piece of equipment imaginable.

There was a sad moment in the fourth inning when the Waynesville pitcher accidentally hit a Camdenton batter and walked back to the mound visibly shaken. His teammates came over to console him, and the umpire walked out to tell them everything was going to be okay.

Waynesville lost today 8-1 but I'd say they still won because it was a necessary step in the healing process.

We contacted the University of North Carolina's sports research department and they told us this is the first time they had ever heard of someone dying after being hit by a pitch in the high school level -- and the third time ever at any level.

It was an absolutely heartbreaking story that has gripped our area for the past few days -- a freak accident that proves life is so fragile, and as the Lebanon baseball coach told us, we will give an account for it one day.

Please pray for the Clegg family, their friends, and the Waynesville and Lebanon, Missouri schools when you think of them. They could all use it.

[Pastor Gary]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517877,00.html

[pastorables]

Yes, extremely sad story.

The young man obviously wanted to make a career of baseball. Here is where he placed his profile on the internet for recruiting purposes:

http://profiles.berecruited.com/athletes/photos/304661

[EagerBeaver]

I would like to point out that the AP story is erroneous in its information. According to information we have been given from fans and parents at the game, the pitch was not a "wild pitch" as stated. Simply high and inside, and it seems Clegg was standing very close to the plate.

Now this being said, did the pitcher try to hit him? Obviously not, and the fact the count was full means the strategy is to simply get the ball over the plate and make him whiff. Looks like the ball simply got away from him and a freak accident occurred.

I pray for everyone involved in this situation, and I think it's wonderful that Mike Clegg reached out to the pitcher at the hospital, gave him a hug and told him it wasn't his fault.