Rosewoods' Anthony McKinney: He's just one of the guys

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on May 22, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

No one would blame Rosewood pitcher and first baseman Anthony McKinney if he gave up baseball. With the adversity he's faced, not many would even attempt to do what he's done.

He doesn't boast big numbers that will earn him all-conference recognition. He isn't an everyday starter for the Eagles. But everything he does on the diamond seems to drop the jaws of everyone who notices one minor difference about McKinney.

He only has one hand.

McKinney was born without a left hand. He's taught himself how to cope with a handicap and he's played numerous sports.

"Here's a kid who has got the right to make every excuse in the world really," Rosewood coach Jason King said. "Some people wouldn't even have the courage to try out. He just never lets it be an excuse.

"Say what you want, but we can all take a lot and learn from that."

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Now a junior, McKinney has settled on baseball -- undoubtedly the toughest sport to play with just one hand. His love for the sport has not stopped him from playing it.

McKinney started to learn and play the game as a 4-year-old. He'd field a ground ball with the glove on his right hand, take it off with one smooth motion, tuck it under his left arm and throw.

"I can just picture him dropping the ball or glove a thousand times growing up trying to get that right," King said, who is still amazed after watching McKinney play for three years.

McKinney didn't take long to master his skill and as he's grown older, he's gotten faster with it. He's so fast that many people don't realize he's missing a hand.

"I just started doing it because that's what I had to do," said McKinney, who played football, basketball and soccer. "It wasn't that difficult to learn."

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Rosewood enters the fourth round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A playoffs riding a 15-game winning streak. McKinney may not be a starter, but he has certainly played a pivotal role on the team.

King, admittedly, felt speechless when McKinney -- then a freshman -- attended tryouts. He earned a spot on the roster because King knew the determined athlete could help the team.

McKinney started on the mound during several games in two seasons on the JV team. Once he moved up to varsity, King slid him into a reliever role due to the team's deep pitching staff. McKinney took the mound for the Neuse Charter game late in the season and surrendered an unearned run to go along with two strikeouts.

But McKinney got hit by a pitch on his hand, which swelled to the point where he couldn't get his glove to fit. King took him out of the game.

"I was really hoping we could get him some innings there," King said. "Because he's a good pitcher for us. He pounds the strike zone and has good command of his pitches."

That command served McKinney well in his freshman year when he threw a no-hitter against Princeton, which King recalls as his best memory of the kid he jokingly calls his "right-hand man."

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McKinney acknowledges that some people see him as an inspiration, which he graciously accepts.

He just wants to be one of the guys and isn't sensitive about his handicap. Self proclaimed as the "one-handed bandit," he uses humor to make people on the team more comfortable around.

"I remember at tryouts I felt rude because I was staring at him," Rosewood pitcher Reed Howell said. "But I was just trying to see how he does it -- because it's amazing -- but then seeing him make fun of himself the way he does. it makes it easier to be comfortable with. Like we can all joke around with him about it."

King recalls the last regular-season game when McKinney taped the end of a clothes hanger to his wrist as if he was Captain Hook.

"I don't know why," King said. "I just look at him and smile and he grins ... He's got such a great attitude about it, it's an inspiration to see how he takes it on."

It might inspire others, but, to McKinney, it's just him being one of the guys.

That's all he's ever wanted.