By By KEVIN TRAVIS
Sports Editor
WILSON — When Landon Powell finally stepped into the batter’s box, making his debut with the Oakland A’s, it capped a long, lengthy journey filled with countless hurdles and heartache.
That’s what made the destination so worthwhile. Powell made the most of his opportunity, cranking out a double in his first Major League at-bat, coming off Seattle Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez on April 11, 2009.
It certainly wasn’t an easy trip. Powell told the audience at Monday’s Wilson Hot Stove Banquet about all the hurdles he had to cross to achieve his goal.
“My story has a lot to do with perseverance,” said Powell, who was a first-round pick (24th overall) of the A’s in 2004. “I had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get to the Major Leagues and to realize my dream as a Major League Baseball player.”
Powell, who helped lead the South Carolina Gamecocks to three straight College World Series appearances after enjoying a successful prep career at Apex High School, said his long journey started when he was young.
“My first obstacle I had to overcome was being unathletic and not being a very gifted athlete,” said Powell, whose wife, Allyson, sat nearby. “I played with a guy like Josh (Hamilton, currently with the Texas Rangers), and Josh was just amazing. He could hit the ball so far and run as fast as anybody else, and I had to work to do those things.”
Powell eventually became a standout in high school, leading Apex to the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 4-A championship in 2000.
High school wasn’t always easy for the 6-3, 230-pound Powell. He had to have surgery on a knee after injuring himself playing basketball. The next year, Powell suffered two broken wrists after getting injured playing basketball, and was forced to miss his entire sophomore season of baseball.
“That’s not good when you want to become a college baseball player or a pro baseball player,” Powell said. “You need to play as much as you can. But I was able to overcome that obstacle.”
Powell went on to have a successful college career. He hit .328 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs in his senior season with the Gamecocks.
Powell was drafted in the first round by the A’s and things started to look up for the affable catcher. However, he blew out a knee during an offseason workout and was forced to rehab the knee for a full 12 months.
After returning to the game, Powell was enjoying a success Minor League stint. However, he once again blew out a knee and was forced out of the game.
“This is when you start asking, ‘why?’ What did I do to deserve this? I came to realize that I didn’t have my relationship with God where it needed to be,” Powell said. “I think God used it to send a message to me that there’s a lot more to life than just baseball.
“There is a Bible verse I like that is 6:21 — ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will follow.’ For me, I always thought baseball was my treasure. That was my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This second ACL injury really made me think about life differently.”
Powell said his life turned somewhat for the better after that.
“I started putting more of my time and energy toward my faith,” Powell said. “But I didn’t make the full adjustment like I should have.”
Powell overcame the injury, returned to baseball and was enjoying a solid season in Triple-A. However, adversity struck again. After drawing a walk and jogging to first base, he stepped into a hole and blew out a knee for the third time.
Powell’s troubles weren’t over just yet. He collapsed during an offseason workout and was taken to the hospital.
Doctors diagnosed Powell with autoimmune hepatitis, a condition Powell’s doctors said had been dormant in his body since birth.
“This was the most shocking of all my obstacles because this wasn’t an injury you can rehab and overcome,” said Powell, who now takes daily medication to manage the illness. “It was a disease that I was going to live with the rest of my life.
“I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I was going to make it work somehow, someway.”
Powell made the opening day roster of the A’s in 2009. He finished with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and hit .229 in his rookie season.
“When I finally got there and realized my dream, it made it so much more worthwhile,” Powell said. “It made it so much more special.”
Powell certainly appreciates the accomplishment of achieving his dream.
“Only 16,500 players have played in the big leagues and that’s hard to think about,” Powell said. “In the history of baseball, and they’ve been playing since the 1850s, there have only been 16,500 guys who have played in the Major League.
“When I went into our stadium and I thought about those 16,500 guys, (like) Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, if all those guys were in this ballpark right now, every single player that played in the Major Leagues, (the stadium) wouldn’t even be a third full. That just made me realize how lucky I was to be where I was, standing on that field and wearing that uniform.”
Powell said the main reason he was able to finally achieve his goal was because of his relationship with God.
“(The key) was not making my treasure (be) baseball, but making my treasure (be) God,” Powell said. “He is the person that I need to build my life around, and He will grant me the desires of my heart.”