A "Gift" to the Pittsburgh Pirates

As I was reading the brand new issue of Sports Illustrated I came across this article and was liked it a lot.

In English this ballplayer's name is Gift and he comes from Africa in an attempt to be the first African to play in the Major Leagues. I was very surprised to not have heard of him before this on Outside the Lines or something else on ESPN (if his story was on anytime I must have missed it).

He was never supposed to play baseball as he was a very good soccer and cricket player who had a bright future in either of those sports in South Africa.

Then his mother took a job at a place where she could live in the tiny clubhouse in exchange for cleaning, cooking, etc. The men who worked the area would play baseball everyday and were known as the Mets.

When Gift was brought to live with his mother after a brief separation from each other, the men took a huge liking to to Gift and his infectious smile and uncanny energy.

Once he picked up a baseball and started playing he couldn't put it down at any point in the day; throwing the ball off the wall in the clubhouse and waking up at 2 a.m. just to catch a little of a game.

As he grew his talent grew and he was sent to some international camps where Barry Larkin took a liking to him and said he had great talent and could be a player in the majors one day.

As of now Gift has played in the World Baseball Classic where he performed relatively well including hitting two triples in South Africa's two games as they were eliminated after those games. He had a hard time adjusting to the American game as he had a barrier between him and his teammates.

Throughout his time here Gift has thought about going back to South Africa because of the rough experiences he has had here. He has stayed with it and is playing for the GCL Pirates and hitting .258.

After reading this article and seeing Gift's struggles I intend to follow his career to see if he in fact can capitalize on this opportunity and become the first African to play in the Major Leagues. I am hoping that if he is called up to the State College Spikes I can see him play when they come to my hometown to play the Williamsport Crosscutters.

Here is a link to the full story as I recommend reading it.