East Carolina head baseball coach Cliff Godwin, left, and Parker Byrd, right, take a picture together while Byrd recovers from a freak accident that caused part of his right leg to be amputated in 2023.
Contributed photo
Current ECU infielder/pitcher becomes first D-1 baseball player to play with prosthetic leg
GREENVILLE — Former Scotland High and current East Carolina infielder/pitcher Parker Byrd became the first player in Division I baseball history to play with a prosthetic leg Friday night in the Pirates’ 16-2 season-opening win against Rider.
Byrd, a sophomore, went to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with the score 11-2; Byrd was walked on a 3-1 pitch to first base, which received a standing ovation from the Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium fans in attendance.
“That’s chill bumps right there just all in all,” Byrd said in a video posted on the “Pirate Radio TV” YouTube channel. “I was going to the home deck circle, and I just started hearing the wave of the crowd, so I mean, it was really cool.”
The historic moment was discussed across multiple sports media platforms, including ESPN, Barstool Sports and The Athletic.
Byrd suffered a boating accident that left him without part of his right leg in July 2022 while tubing with friends in Bath Creek; Byrd went through 22 surgeries because of the incident.
Byrd recently returned to Scotland County to give his testimony at Northview Harvest Ministries on Jan. 21.