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07/28/2016 12:00 AMBaseball is a game that often imitates life with its many ups and downs, slumps and hot streaks. This spring, North Branford’s Chris Rayner learned how you take a curveball of a setback and knock it out of the park.
Chris was all set for a sensational senior year as a pitcher/center fielder with the T-Birds when he felt discomfort in his pitching arm during the preseason. Chris was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow that would prevent him from pitching or playing the field for the entire campaign. However, Chris didn’t want to be completely out of action for his sendoff season, so he held off surgery and became North Branford’s full-time designated hitter—a position that didn’t put as much strain on his injured arm. Chris finished the year with a .406 batting average and led the Thunderbirds in both RBI (26) and triples (6), while helping the team record 13 victories.
“We had pitcher’s and catcher’s sessions in the first week of the season and I was in the bullpen and something just didn’t feel right. I went for an MRI and it said my UCL was torn,” says Chris. “The injury was heartbreaking, but it taught me that you can’t sit around and you have to contribute to the team in any way possible. This year taught me not to give up.”
Even with the diagnosis, Chris still had plenty of belief in his ability to do damage at the dish. Quite often, Chris would slow down his mind and simply let the lumber do the labor.
“I think I was a lot more confident at the plate this year versus any other year of baseball,” says Chris. “Another thing that helped was that I didn’t think about things too much up at bat. In the past, I would think too much about the hits and pitches.”
Some student-athletes might feel demoralized about dealing with physical limitations during the final season of their high school career. Chris, on the other hand, was bolstered by the tremendous wave of support that he received from his colleagues, and he appreciates every last ounce of it.
“My team and my teammates helped keep me going. They supported me through everything,” Chris says. “They helped me stay positive because the injury was especially tough with it being my senior year. They really helped me get through it all.”
North Branford skipper Billy Mitchell says that Chris made some tremendous strides and developed a great deal of character throughout the four seasons he spent as a T-Bird. Chris’s growth was demonstrated by how he handled the adversity of his injury this year.
“Chris was relegated to DH this year with the injury and he was also to be our starting center fielder, but he did really well with it and hit third in the order. He took the injury like a man and contributed all year,” says Mitchell. “He kept his head up all year and encouraged his teammates. He probably grew the furthest as a person in four years than anyone I’ve coached. He’s got his head on straight and I’m really proud of him.”
Chris’s post-high school plans further speak to the kind of person he is as Chris plans to join the United States Marine Corps. Looking back at his time with the North Branford baseball program, Chris sees a team with a dugout full of people that he will never forget.
“Ever since I could remember, I always wanted to play college baseball. But then when my junior year started, I realized it wasn’t for me and wanted a bigger challenge,” says Chris, who thanks his parents, Bill and Urszula, along with his coaches and teammates. “North Branford baseball was the best four years of my life. I made so many friendships with teammates and coaches and I wouldn’t trade it all for anything.”