St. Joseph's University baseball player beats the odds

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- At first glance he looks like any other baseball player at St. Joseph's University.

But then you notice the back of Joey Gorman's head - an outward sign of what has been a long and courageous road, to get back on the field.

"I remember coming back to school right after and I was a little embarrassed - I don't know why. My little brothers helped shave my head and walk around proud with it," said Gorman.

He has a Chiari Malformation, which is a structural defect in the brain that was discovered when he was 12.

But his freshman year at St. Joe's, it started causing major problems.

"One day I was weight lifting and I pushed out and that's when everything started tingling down my neck, I lost feeling in my leg and in my arm," said Gorman.

From there, two brain surgeries and two arm surgeries followed - in just a two year span.

Gorman was one of our area's best pitchers coming out of Neumann Goretti but was left with nerve damage in his throwing arm.

And yet despite long odds, the junior is finally playing his first season of college baseball - seeing time at first base and as a pinch hitter.

Why fight so hard to get back on this field?

"Love - I love it," said Gorman.

"I have the utmost respect for his passion and his drive for life. It's pretty impressive and we all learn from it everyday," said Coach Fritz Hamburg.

Gorman hopes to start a foundation. He'll sell shirts with the motto "Losing is Not an Option" to raise awareness.

"I see a bigger picture. Baseball ends at some point - I don't want it to ever end. But Chiari is not well-known and this is my opportunity to effect another kid's life. Once you're out of surgery it's not a death sentence, you can still accomplish things and do a lot more with your life," he said.

If anyone wants to buy one of Gorman's "Losing is Not an Option" shirts, they can email him at gorm50an@aol.com.

Note: The sells of the shirt are not for profit but to raise awareness.