Tracy McGrady has joined the minor league baseball team Sugar Land Skeeters as pitcher. The ex-NBA all-star joined the team's spring camp during the third week of April and signed to be in the official roster, NBC Sports reported.
Gary Gaetti, Skeeters team manager, confirmed that McGrady is on the team. He decided to let McGrady join the roster on April 23, 2014 after showing significant progress and improving in his abilities during training camp. He appeared during the opening of the regular season on April 24, 2014 when the Skeeters faced off against Lancaster. Gaetti said, "He showed enough ability and we're going to see where this goes."
According to ESPN, McGrady is excited to join the baseball team. He shared, "It's an honor to be a part of this club. To be a part of the team means everything to me and it's a dream come true. I look forward to coming to the ballpark not only to play the game, but to be in the clubhouse building camaraderie with these guys. I am excited to start the journey we're going to take this season."
Unknown to many of his NBA fans, Tracy McGrady actually played baseball before basketball. He played baseball since he was five years old until his senior year in high school. Afterwards, he transferred to a school without a baseball program. The 34-year-old, 6'8" pitcher also said that he was excited to be playing baseball again after his 16-year career with the NBA.
Gaetti and McGrady are working to improve his throwing, focusing more on strategy and location, instead of speed, to avoid injury. McGrady started in an exhibition match against Alvin Community College and threw 15 pitches. The team manager confessed that McGrady's popularity among fans and the latter's personal appeal contributed to his admission into the team. He said, "We kind of all knew that there was a pretty good possibility that he was going to make the team," writes CBS Sports.
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