WORCESTER – Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) has a new design hitter on their baseball team. He happens to be 51 years old and plays with a prosthetic foot.
“If you ask my wife, baseball was my life before, during and after the injury,” said Paul Landry Jr., the newest QCC Wyvern.
Landry has been coaching baseball for 25 years. He never played in college or high school before. In 2019, a serious trailer accident crushed his foot. He was going to undergo surgery, but then the COVD struck.
‘It ended up breaking a lot of bones and dislocating some. I honestly don’t remember much about it,” Landry said.
Operation delayed due to COVID
Because the surgery was postponed due to COVID, the broken bones in his foot began to fuse into a ball.
“It eventually became beyond repair,” Landry said of his eventual amputation. “It just so happens that one of the things I used to do was I was a truck driver, so that’s how I got into school.”
Unable to drive a truck anymore, he enrolled at QCC in hopes of learning a new career. While in college, he helped QCC baseball assistant Kyle Paganelli find a practice space for the team.
“I joked and said I have two years of eligibility, and I’m a full-time student. We all chuckled about it, but Kyle took that and ran,” Landry said.
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“It took him three months to convince and harass him,” Paganelli said of his pursuit of Landry. “He’s great with the guys. He’s a mentor to these guys.”
“Like a spark plug for us”
Landry recently got his first at-bat in a game. With two men in hand, he made a bunt. It led to a steal and a play at the plate. The runner scored and gave his team the lead. A few pitches later, he struck out.
“Everyone was cheering. It’s the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in this place,” said Cameron Marks, a player who used to be coached by Landry but now calls him a QCC teammate. “He’s almost like a spark plug for us. He shows everyone that you can do what you put your mind to.”
“They all shouted ‘Landry!’ I think after that foul ball we all thought he was going to get hit,” Paganelli smiled.
“It’s exceptional to feel the support from the younger guys while someone like me gets an opportunity,” Landry said. “I look at it all as icing.”
