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Pirates on a mission for LeClair
By JAY COHEN
Associated Press Writer
GREENVILLE (AP) — Ryan Jones
remembers when former East Carolina coach Keith LeClair was diagnosed with
Lou Gehrig's disease three years ago.
And he's watched as LeClair's
health has deteriorated. So he knows that time is of the essence this
postseason.
After a regular season in
which the Pirates won 47 games and its first Conference USA regular season
title, Jones and his teammates are hoping to give LeClair what he has always
wanted for the school: a trip to the College World Series.
``Every day is a battle for
him, and we don't know when his last day will be,'' said Jones, one of four
seniors on the team who played for LeClair. ``To get there this year for him
would be great.''
This may be East Carolina's
best opportunity. The Pirates closed out the regular season by winning 28 of
their last 31 games. They can hit, pitch and field, and are on track to take
their former coach where he has never been.
``It was his dream and we're
going to do it for him,'' said outfielder Jamie Paige, who wears LeClair's
No. 23 jersey in tribute.
All LeClair has from Omaha,
Neb., is some dirt from the infield at Rosenblatt Stadium. It was a gift
from Clemson baseball coach Jack Leggett, who took the Tigers to the College
World Series in 2002. (LeClair played for Leggett as a walk-on at Western
Carolina.)
That was around the same time
LeClair stepped down as baseball coach at East Carolina, his body ravaged by
the paralyzing effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
``When I asked my wife to rub
my hands in it, she looked at me a little crazy,'' LeClair said in an e-mail
interview with The Associated Press. ``But I said if I can't go, the next
best thing was to feel a little dirt. So, I have it sitting next to my chair
where I can see a part of Omaha every day.''
LeClair watched the Pirates
from a van parked on a platform built in the right field foul territory at
Harrington Field. Pirates players and coaches visited him there before
almost every home game.
Making it to Omaha ``would
bring some closure to what our teams tried to accomplish for so many
years,'' LeClair said. ``I demanded so much from my players over the years
and this would make the journey worth it for all of the sacrifices they
made, regardless how many years ago it took place.''
LeClair, 38, was leading the
Pirates to their third of four consecutive 40-win seasons when he began to
feel weak during the 2001 season. He passed it off as stress, but during the
offseason his left arm began to twitch constantly.
Within a year, he had been
diagnosed with ALS and was on a ventilator. Now he's confined to a chair at
home, unable to speak or move. He communicates by using a computer that
allows him to type by focusing his gaze at letters on a screen.
There is no cure for ALS, and
the average patient survives just 27 to 43 months.
Now, with his razor-sharp
baseball mind trapped in a decaying body, LeClair has become an inspiration
— and a source of wisdom — for the Pirates.
The stands at Harrington Field
are dotted with LeClair jerseys, and Pirates coach Randy Mazey stops by
LeClair's home frequently to talk baseball. Assistant coach Nick Schnabel
comes over to play with LeClair's 6-year-old son J.D., who Lynn LeClair said
has inherited his father's passion for baseball.
Should East Carolina advance
through the NCAA baseball regionals and become one of the eight teams to
reach this year's CWS, LeClair isn't sure he would make the trip to
Nebraska. His health is one concern, he said, and he also would not want to
be in the way.
And Mazey, for one, isn't sure
that actually going to Omaha is that important for LeClair.
``I think in his heart and his
mind with his relationship with God, I think he's OK with where he's at
right now,'' Mazey said. ``It's hard for us to say that looking at him
because physically he's in such bad shape, but mentally and spiritually I
think he's in the best shape of his life.''
Keith LeClair's Internet
Column:
bonesville.net/articles/KeithLeClair/060504_Leclair.htm.
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:37:07 AM
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