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The Tampa Bay Rays traded for minor-league pitcher Jeff Belge this week, a left-handed reliever with an inspiring backstory.
Belge was in an accident that damaged one of his eyes when he was 9-years-old. He had to have multiple surgeries after a piece of shale pierced the cornea in his right eye.
Several years later, Belge suffered another traumatic injury that required emergency surgery to his eye. Despite the setbacks, Belge pitched in the Dodgers farm system last season and has been able to put together a solid baseball career.
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Jeff Belge (Barry Gossage/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
But Belge, 25, overcame the challenges the incidents presented to pitch his way to the Double-A level by the end of last season. He played with Tulsa in the Double-A playoffs.
During his stint in the High-A ranks with the Great Lakes Loons in 2022, Belge complied a 3-3 record and a 3.66 ERA. He also struck out 50 batters over 32 innings.
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Belge pitched at Henninger High in Syracuse, New York, before attending college at St. John's University.
The Dodgers selected Belge in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Jeff Belge #31 of the Glendale Desert Dogs pitches during the game between the Mesa Solar Sox and the Glendale Desert Dogs at Camelback Ranch on Saturday, October 23, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. (Taylor Jackson/MLB Photos)
He told Syracuse.com he can only see a few colors and outlines of objects in his right eye.
"It’s pretty much nothing," he said.
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During games, Belge will typically wear protective eyeglasses, and he said when he is on the pitching mound he just tries to focus on living out his dream.
"I find ways around it," Belge told the New York Post. "It doesn’t really bother me. It’s just me having a dream and just following it. It’s a bump along the way I had to get over."
The NCAA 2018 Division I Baseball Championship regional playoffs in Clemson, S.C. on June 3, 2018 held an elimination game between St. John's and Clemson. Jeff Belge (7) of St. John's throws a pitch. (John Byrum/Icon Sportswire)
Another Rays' pitcher also previously faced an eye issues, Juan Sandoval. He pitched his way through Tampa Bay's minor league system in 2013-2014 when he was blind in his right eye.
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Belge said his right eye vision is 20/300 to 20/400. He is set to pitch for the Rays at the Double-A level next season.
The Dodgers sent injured reliever J.P. Feyereisen to the Rays in exchange for Belge.
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