CBS 58's Hometown Athlete: Greendale native returns to baseball after blood clots
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In his second season with the Milwaukee Milkmen, Greendale native Griffin Doersching has become an All-Star. But before returning to the field, he dealt with a health scare.
Last spring, Doersching was all set to suit up for the Milkmen, but something wasn't right.
"It was just extremely hard to breathe. When I would cough, there would be some blood in it, and I was like, okay, like this is getting pretty serious. I need to go to the doctor," said Doersching. "Got a CT scan, and they told me that I had a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in your lung."v
That meant Doersching had to go on blood thinners.
"It definitely was scary," said Doersching.
Doctors reassured Doersching he would be okay, but because of the effects of his medication, he could not play baseball.
"Someone slides in and like cleats me, I'm going to bleed a lot more than I should. Or if I get hit by a pitch, that's, you know, 96. The bruising would have been massive," said Doersching. "Baseball is what I've done my whole life. It's one of my biggest loves and getting it taken away for like, something that wasn't my terms was very frustrating."
Sidelined, but not idle, Doersching worked and tried to stay active with his friends.
"We would go for walks, and I mean like, six-to-12-mile walks. We would just walk a ton," said Doersching.
As the months went on, his checkups with the doctors kept returning good results. By Christmas, the embolism was gone and remained that way at his checkup in April, giving Doersching the all-clear.
"The body is a machine. It truly is resilient," said Doersching. "One day I was walking around the rock and AB, our manager, was driving and he pulled up next to me and he's like, hey, are you going to play ball next year? And I was like, yeah. And he's like, alright, you're going to be the first guy I sign."
"Just a great guy in the clubhouse, just a positive guy. Always picking his teammates up. Obviously, the play on the field is good too," said Anthony Barone, Milwaukee Milkmen manager. "He's one of those guys people surround themselves with. Whether it's pitchers, hitters, guys just gravitate to him. He's got a lot of experience in the game, so he brings that to the clubhouse. Being around, a local guy too, it's a great story."
Now he is making up for lost time. This season, Doersching set an American Association of Professional Baseball record with 10 RBI, including three home runs in a single game. He participated in the league's Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
"When I like take a step back and look at it," said Doersching, "Where I was 12 months ago from today, to right now, it's kind of incredible."
Doersching, a former MLB Draft pick by the San Diego Padres, now plays across the street from his house, with his parents rooting him on in the game he loves.
"I love that I get to do this in front of them. It makes it feel more important. The fact that they can be here and watch it all," said Doersching.
Also carrying new perspective.
"I just want to thank God. I mean, truly, like, pulmonary embolism is something that can end a lot of people's lives, and God decided to keep me around, and I hope I'm doing what he wants me to do," said Doersching.