Greenberg’s message: Get back up

Former baseball player will run for Kennedy’s former state senate seat

The last time we talked Adam Greenberg had just found out he would get the one official major league at-bat that had eluded him for seven years.

“Life throws curveballs and fastballs at your head,” Greenberg said that September day in 2012 when I worked for the Hartford Courant. “I got hit by one of them. I went down. I could have stayed there. I could have said poor me and this is horrible. I chose to get back up and get in the box. That’s the message for everyone. No matter what’s going on in their lives, get back up. Good things do happen.”

Those 64 words are not Greenberg’s official platform for his run at the 12th District Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy Jr. They sure could be.

On an April day when the Red Sox and Yankees resumed the greatest rivalry in sports, a rivalry that divides Connecticut in half, a former state baseball player talked about his decision to get into something even tougher and more divisive. Politics. “Connecticut is my home,” Greenberg, 37, said. “The state has been in consistent crisis for a number of years. People are struggling financially, contemplating leaving and I really want to be part of solving the problem. This isn’t about political gain with me. This isn’t the path I’m looking at necessarily long term. I just want the state to be a better place.”

Born in New Haven, Greenberg grew up in Guilford and lives in Branford. Baseball took him to the University of North Carolina and all over the country in the minor leagues. He walked to the plate twice in

the majors, both times in Miami, once for the Cubs in 2005 and once for the Marlins in 2012.

In his first major-league appearance, Greenberg was hit in the back of the head by a 92 mph fastball from Valerio de los Santos. One pitch and he was writhing in agony, in panic, telling himself, “Stay alive.” He did, but for two years he fought through the crushing results of post-concussion syndrome. Vertigo, headaches, blurred vision, all of it. And for years, he kept pushing through the minor leagues, ultimately landing in Bridgeport with the independent league Bluefish. In 2011, he would face de los Santos, a healing moment for both men.

Few athletes ever fought harder to keep a dream alive than Greenberg and the dream became almost mythic. Cubs fan Matt Liston led a petition that finally brought a call from Marlins general manager David Samson. He got his at-bat. Forget life throwing him a curveball. The Mets’ R.A. Dickey threw knuckle balls. Greenberg struck out on three pitches. Still, the moment meant everything.

Eight years ago, Greenberg met J.R. Romano, now the state Republican chairman.

“He goes to the same gym I do,” Greenberg said. “We became friends. To be honest, I didn’t know what he did. We just talked about things.”

Greenberg is no shrinking violet. He does plenty of motivational speaking. He runs a nutritional and wellness business, Lurlong Living.

“J.R. didn’t recruit me or anything like that,” Greenberg said. “But he helped me realize there’s a chance to make a difference in an area that I hadn’t thought about at all, things that mirror who I am.”

So he made his official decision to run as a Republican a couple of weeks ago. Democrat Christine Hunter Cohen and Republican Jerry Mastrangelo also are running for the state senate seat that represents Branford, Guilford, Durham, Killingworth, North Branford and Madison.

“I’ve taken this very seriously, it isn’t a whim,” Greenberg said. “After talking to all sorts of people, I realize I’m not a hardcore Democrat. I’m not a hardcore Republican. I’m about doing what’s right. Leadership in this state over the last bunch of years has led us to a really bad spot.”

Asked for his biggest stance, Greenberg answered, “Deregulation for businesses. I’m a small business owner. Big government has killed this state, overspending. For me, it’s about giving people the ability to thrive. I’ve never really taken a political stance publicly. But seeing how hard it is for people retiring, getting taxed out of the state, people who are young not getting the opportunities that once were here, I want to see it change.”

Who knows where this will take him politically, but there are two things that people should know about this kid from Guilford. He got up from a horrible beaning and he never once said he was owed anything.

“I have been down so often in my life,” Greenberg said. “I worked to overcome those challenges. I see the state in the same way. It doesn’t matter what side of the fence anyone is on, it’s about pulling everyone together.

“Too often in our society, I apologize for using the term, but it’s real, the term ‘cry rooms’ is really disheartening. A cry room has been used as a place when things go bad, ‘Don’t worry. Just don’t deal with it. It’s OK. Don’t show up to school. Just feel bad. Go cry about it.’ Look, I’m all for the human emotion of ‘poor me’ for a minute. That’s your reaction you can’t control. But at the end of the day what do you do when you face adversity? You come together and work like hell to come up with a solution.”

In 2013, after what he believed was a promising start with the Orioles organization, he was cut. He went back to play for Bridgeport and it was at a game in South Maryland, his love for going to the ballpark finally gone, where he faced hard facts.

“Late, extra innings, windy rainy, I went back for a fly ball, put my hands up,” Greenberg said.

The ball caught him on the tip of his index finger.

“My finger exploded, split open,” Greenberg said.

He got the message. “Dude it’s time,” he said. “Go home and start your real life.”

And so he did. Last July he was asked to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Cubs game. The book he wrote, “Get Up: The Art of Perseverance” had just come out. Greenberg’s young son was on the field with him.

“As crazy as it sounds, I thought if everything I went through was for this one moment, it was all worth it,” he said. “Anything amazing in my life is usually followed by something unfortunate or tragic.”

An hour into that game, Greenberg got a call.

“My best friend’s son, Ben Callahan, drowned,” he said. “We went straight to the airport. It was such a tragedy.”

There would be a candlelight vigil two nights later in Branford and among his community, Adam Greenberg remembers thinking one thing, “We have to keep pushing together.”

And so the guy who got up, now has this chance to push for the people of Connecticut. Let’s see how he does.

Associated Press Guilford-raised Adam Greenberg waves to the crowd during his one-day appearance with the Marlins in 2012.