At Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday, a triple amputee veteran not only threw out the ceremonial first pitch, he also stunned onlookers when he pitched a strike.
As Business Insider notes, Marine Cpl. Nicholas Kimmel, who lost both legs and one of his arms during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, threw the impressive strike before the second Giants-Tigers game in San Francisco.
Kimmel, who was at the game as part of Major League Baseball's Welcome Back Veterans program, told USA Today that the whole experience had been "like a dream."
Kimmel was a baseball star in high school before enlisting in the Marines. He was with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, from Okinawa, Japan, when he was injured in Afghanistan in December.
He is now undergoing treatment at Naval Medical Center San Diego.
As MLB.com writes, this "wasn't the first time Kimmel had thrown out a first pitch at a baseball game, but it was the first time he walked out to the mound on his own, without needing a wheelchair for assistance."
"I'm just so excited for him to be going out there, and I'm just honored to be a part of it," Giants pitcher Barry Zito said.
According to USA Today, Kimmel -- who enjoyed season tickets to San Diego Padres games this season thanks to the Strikeouts for Troops program -- says that baseball has helped him "live a more normal life."
"Strikeouts for Troops is...a way to get out in public and enjoy something that I enjoyed before -- baseball -- without having to worry about a bunch of people staring at me," he said.
The program, founded by Zito in 2005, seeks to help wounded soldiers who are being treated at military hospitals, according to its website.
Kimmel, who says he often gets to go on the field during batting practice, told USA Today that the program has also introduced him to a whole new community of friends, including baseball stars like Zito, Jake Peavy and Brad Ziegler.
Kimmel, however, isn't the only one who's benefitted from this baseball bond.
"I've had heroes in my life -- Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth," Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda said, according to MLB.com. "But I look at this Marine here ... this is my hero."
Click through the slideshow below to see photos of Tom Willis, a man who was born without arms and hopes to throw a first pitch out at every Major League Baseball stadium in the U.S.
