Drew Robinson, a 29-year-old outfielder who lost his eye last year in a suicide attempt, has made the opening day roster for the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats. The River Cats start their season on Thursday on the road in Las Vegas.
Robinson appeared in 100 MLB games over parts of three seasons between 2017-2019. He made his major-league debut with the Rangers in 2017 and now is trying to return to the majors after losing his right eye in 2020.
Robinson's family, friends and his doctors will go to the Las Vegas Ballpark at the season opener. The spot is where Robinson -- a Las Vegas native -- often took batting practice and hit his first home run after his suicide attempt. While taking batting practice, his success on the field is what motivated him and made him realize a return to baseball was possible.
Robinson spoke to ESPN about making the Triple-A roster and playing professional baseball again:
"I don't know if I'll be able to fully describe how excited I am for these next six games, but I know that this is going to be another powerful experience, and I'm so ready for it. Our game isn't even until [Thursday], but I already had a hard time staying asleep [Tuesday] night because of how excited I am for these games and this experience as a whole. After going through most of my life not fully appreciating what was happening, I can promise that I'll be taking in every second of this season with a new understanding of how special all of this is."
Robinson had four surgeries, including the removal of his eye, after shooting himself in the head in April 2020. Through various forms of therapy, he was able to get back to baseball.
Too meaningful of a post to keep within twitter’s character limit haha. So here’s a screenshot of my real caption. 🎉❤️ #BiggerThanMe #BiggerThanSports pic.twitter.com/WyGfNYDX0R
— Drew Robinson (@Drewrobbb) May 5, 2021
Robinson committed to return to the field, added 20 pounds of muscle and changed his workout routine after the suicide attempt. He signed a minor-league deal with the Giants last winter. Robinson is attempting to become the first MLB player with one eye since Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Whammy Douglas in 1957.
