Landis Sims pursues baseball dream despite life’s obstacles

Eleven-year-old inspires current, former MLB players

Most people in their lives never:

Eleven-year-old Landis Sims is not like most people.

Baseball appears an impossible dream for Sims, an Elizabeth, Ind., native born with only partial arms and legs and no hands or feet. But Sims doesn’t know impossible.

“His whole life has been about showing people what he can do, instead of talking about his differences,” Landis’ mom, Amanda Haag, said.

Sims has always found a way to overcome his obstacles, throwing righty (with his glove) and hitting lefty. He spends countless hours tossing a tennis ball against a wall to improve his throwing speed.

When Sims got his first bat at age 2, “the rest was history,” his mom says. Sims’ family constantly threw pitches to him so he could play for hours on end.

“I love everything about baseball,” he said. “I think it’s the smart person’s game.”

Sims knows that giving up is an easy route, but that isn’t how he views challenges.

“I’m not going to give up if I can’t figure something out. I’ll just put in the work,” he said. “I’ve always thought I can do this, and I work to make adjustments.”

The work has paid off. Sims plays on an all-star team every other summer and recently received a grant to play in the Endeavor Games.

But it’s not only his skill or love of the game that caught the eye of a few Major Leaguers.

Landis became the youngest Yankee in history last season, when he signed a one-day contract. He made a strong impression on the whole team, including A-Rod, who made sure they took BP and had lunch together.

Sims visited MLB Network in early April, when he Facetimed with McCann. Sims told McCann to “go deep tonight.” The Astros catcher did just that.

MLB Network’s Eric Byrnes, who played 11 years in MLB, knows about toughness and work ethic. He raves about Sims.

“He is living proof that we can’t always control the things that happen to us, but we can control our response,” said Byrnes, who helped host Sims at MLB Network. “What inspires me is knowing what went into getting [Landis] to where he is at this stage in his life. Landis doesn’t feel sorry for himself one bit. His attitude and work ethic are beyond just about anybody I have ever met in my life.”

Sims said he’d love to play baseball professionally when he grows up, but he’d settle for being a coach or commentator if that didn’t work out. Either way, we can’t wait to see what his future holds.