KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The hero slouched on a couch and let the moment overwhelm him. Saul Bosquez knew it was fine to feel lost in the experience because memories like this aren't made every day.
It was about three hours before he joined Matt Kinsey, another member of the Wounded Warrior amputee softball team, in the All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium. About 10 feet away, Bill Self and Matt Cassel held court with the media. Earlier, Bosquez and Kinsey had joked among themselves that they were little more than wide-eyed observers asked to share the same field with pop culture stars, prominent sports figures and Hall of Famers like Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield. Bosquez looked at the bustle around him in a small room beyond left field, still stunned.
"It's real surreal right now," said Bosquez, 27. "Walking into the locker room, my locker was in between Bo Jackson's and Rickey Henderson's. It's not an everyday occurrence. … I still haven't been able to put it into words, because both Matt and I have been talking, and we've seen Hall of Famers, people in movies and television – and then you have us. It's pretty crazy."
The All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game was a light-hearted affair – Kinsey's National League team routed Bosquez's American League squad 21-8 – but the two men's presence offered something deeper: Perspective and a display of patriotic pride. Bosquez (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and Kinsey (Operation Enduring Freedom) lost limbs while serving in the United States Army. But the Wounded Warrior amputee softball team, a group founded in March 2011 through a congressional grant received by the University of Arizona, has allowed both to keep their competitive drives strong.
It's a chance Kinsey refuses to take for granted. Late Sunday afternoon, the Rockville, Ind., native leaned on a chain-link fence beyond left field and spoke about how the Wounded Warrior amputee softball team had given him a second life as an athlete.
Kinsey has a Symes amputation on his right foot. He thought his time on the diamond was over until he found a unique bond within a group that strives to raise awareness of the military's sacrifice through celebrity and exhibition games across the country.
For him, the discovery meant renewal. He learned belief can overcome doubt.
"Never quit," said Kinsey, 27. "It could always be worse. We're very blessed. It's a second chance at being an athlete, being a part of this team. You don't take that for granted. I know I don't anymore. I think if you do, you're a fool. … This has been a pretty amazing ride so far. It's a gift, and we're running with it."
That gift has grown from its original vision. David Van Sleet, the team's general manager/head coach, placed feelers throughout the country shortly after the University of Arizona grant. The interest that followed revealed he had tapped into a need: About 250 people applied, and he narrowed the applicant pool to 20 after checking resources and recommendations. What was supposed to be a one-week camp has become a 15-member national team that plays year-round and has made appearances in Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada, Florida and Washington, D.C., among other locations.
"Once your physical part (of combat injury) is healed, there's the mental part you've got to deal with," Van Sleet said. "This is what healed that part of it for them."
The healing wasn't lost during Bosquez's and Kinsey's time at Kauffman Stadium. Earlier Sunday, the pair took part in an autograph signing. At one point, they turned to Cassel and cracked that their signatures were worth little.
"Oh," Bosquez recalled Cassel saying, "it's worth more than you think."
Such moments taught Bosquez how similar he and his star-studded colleagues are. Sure, he knew all about Bill Self and Jennie Finch, Jackson and George Brett, Jon Hamm and Joe Carter. They were famous faces, after all, and he caught himself at times in awe.
But for Bosquez, an Adrian, Mich., native, the give-and-take with his fellow players humanized them. They became equals. For one night of reflection, he and Kinsey were among the event's biggest draws.
Before their first at-bats, both received standing ovations from the crowd. Chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" lifted through the thick, hot air. More applause followed when Kinsey flared a home run to left field in the top of the fifth inning. They were touching moments, ones that showed the power of sacrifice and shared respect.
"People see the legs and the arms," said Bosquez, who lost his left leg below the knee after amputation. "For us, it's not just a physical rehab. A lot of it is the mental. It's easier coming back from the physical aspect of stuff than it is the mental. With physical things, you pretty much don't have a say in how it's going to go. All the work you put into it is how you're going to do. With the mental, there are a lot of things you can do, and sometimes it doesn't help or it doesn't go away. It's nice having the guys and being able to talk it out so you have those days when you can get through it."
Sunday was a time to remember there are more important things in life than fame and fortune. Yes, there were plenty on the field at Kauffman Stadium with both.
But Bosquez and Kinsey showed resilience is worth so much more.
