Huskies’ Parker Hanson Continues to Defy the Odds

Hanson was born with a unique disability, but he doesn't let that stop him from chasing his dreams.

DULUTH, Minn. – What separates the good athletes from the great ones is how they handle the challenges that come their way. For Huskies pitcher Parker Hanson, the adversity he has faced his whole life playing the game he loves goes beyond trying to strikeout the guy in the batters box.

Hanson throw a 90 mile-an-hour fast ball and has a nasty slider. But the focus is on his ability to do these things with only one hand. The Hawley native was born without a left hand. But from when he was little, he never let that
Hold him back.

“My mom said when I was two, I grabbed a plastic bat and I never let it go since. I played T-ball when I was three, almost four so I’ve always just played baseball. I love the game, i just love everything about it,” said Hanson.

It wasn’t until Hanson reached middle school that the real obstacles began.

“When I got older, about eighth grade, the pitching got harder and I didn’t have a prosthetic yet. So swinging with one hand, I kind of fell behind and wasn’t able to hit as well as I normally could which was frustrating,” Hanson said.

What was even more frustrating were the doubters. But Hanson uses the doubt to keep him going.

“I got left off a travel baseball team when I was younger. That kind of sparked me a lot. I let people say what they want and I do my talking on the field,” Hanson said.

In his most recent outing with the Huskies, the University of Minnesota-Crookston product shoved for seven straight innings.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be successful. But I don’t think of myself as a different person or different than other people. I’m just another college baseball player trying to live the dream,” said Hanson.

“He’s just like any other guy. He can handle bunts, PFPs. He can throw off–speed pitches. He handles runners. He’s actually quite a pleasure to work with,” pitching coach Marcus Pointer said.

As far as his future is concerned, Hanson has his sights set on pro ball. He said, “I just want to be able to say I made it one day and got paid to play baseball.”