Hard work and determination can make one’s wildest dreams come true. Just ask Danny Gieselman, a senior pitcher at MSU.
Gieselman was on the club baseball team for three seasons.
Injuries and the lack of an available roster spot on the Division-1 team were factors for why he had to wait so long.
“Found out I had a torn labrum in my shoulder, which made it really hard for me to actually throw and get velocity on my fastball,” Gieselman said. “So thankfully I was fortunate enough to play club baseball.”
Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. noted the roster spot situation and kept in contact throughout the waiting process to make sure he was ready if the time had come.
“With the roster situation we had, with the NCAA rules that we have, it didn’t work in the fall, we didn’t have room,” Boss Jr. said. “But I told him just in case something happens we have a new rule where if someone goes down and gets hurt, we might be able to replace somebody, so stay ready.”
And Gieselman did just that.
Boss Jr. was excited to make the phone call to the pitcher.
He was so surprised that he originally did not answer because he thought his friends were pranking him. He eventually came to the realization.
“All of a sudden I realized the area code and actually figured it might be him, so then I went into shock and called him and I was ecstatic,” Gieselman said.
His impact has already been felt on the team.
Players like Adam Proctor have noticed that it spans farther than just on the field.
“You can tell he wants to be here, so it makes you excited to be here too,” Proctor said. “If someone’s having a bad day and Danny comes up, he’s gonna be in a good mood. He’s gonna be happy, he’s gonna be smiling. So, it’s hard not to smile when Danny’s smiling at you.”