Senior co-captain Eric Kirby Tim McKinney
Athletes achieve success by overcoming obstacles and winning the hard battles on the playing field. A year ago, Cornell baseball standout Eric Kirby '97, from Allison Park, Pa., faced the grimmest of opponents off the field and won the toughest battle of his life.
Late last January, just before the beginning of the baseball season, Kirby learned he had a cancerous tumor sitting on his heart. He took a year off from school, going home for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. But he told his coach, Tom Ford, "I'm going to beat this." And he did.
Kirby, a catcher-first baseman, has been a standout on Cornell's men's baseball team since his freshman year, when he tied the school's record for most hits in a game (five), against Colgate. He continued to shine in his sophomore campaign, leading the team in batting during its spring trip with a .409 average.
Kirby's stellar performance in his junior year garnered him a spot on the All-Ivy League first team. He was second on the Big Red in hitting (.346) and tops in home runs (11), slugging percentage (.625) and RBI (35).
He has been called "the most feared long-ball threat in the Ancient Eight." His 11 homers as a junior in 1995 established a new Cornell record for home runs in a season. In addition, he played in the 1995 New York state college all-star game, has played on the Ithaca Lakers and had realistic hopes of being drafted into professional baseball.
But the discovery of his illness put his life at Cornell and in baseball on hold.
"Eric's absence really affected the team; he was the leader," Ford said.
Now Kirby is back as co-captain for the 1997 season.
"Eric's doing more than we expected, catching in all four games on league weekends. He's doing well, performance-wise and leadership-wise." Ford said. "Eric is a great leader. He really cares about his teammates' performances, and he's a very strong person."
But Kirby's expectations are still high, and the team's success is uppermost in his mind. "We are simply not playing up to expectations," he said of this season, so far. "I'm just not playing as well as I could; sometimes that just happens."
Still, overcoming the odds in his battle with illness has altered his view of himself.
"Before I was sick, I never knew how I'd react to something like that. Now I know, and it's a question mark in my life that's been answered," Kirby said. The role that baseball -- which he calls his "passion" -- plays in his life has changed as well.
"Up until I got sick, my focus was going pro. Now I want to have fun with it. I don't want the pressure of, 'am I going to get drafted?'" he said.
And the senior, who will graduate in May with a degree in psychology, says baseball also played a role in his swift recovery. "Baseball was the number one thing that got me better. I wanted to come back and play with this team," Kirby said.