Chobee Dirtbags rally following injury to teammate

Posted 10/1/21

The travel youth baseball team Chobee Dirtbags was tied 3-3 in a tournament in Lessburg on Sept. 25 when David Busbin came up to bat ...

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Chobee Dirtbags rally following injury to teammate

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LEESBURG- The travel youth baseball team Chobee Dirtbags was tied 3-3 in a tournament game in Lessburg on Sept. 25 when David Busbin came up to bat to lead off the bottom of the sixth.

Busbin hit a infield ground ball to the shortstop that looked like a routine out for the defense. But he hustled down the first base line, jumped headfirst into the bag and beat out the incoming throw to give Chobee a baserunner to lead off the inning.

On the slide, David banged up his arm and had to come out of the game. Still, that lead off base hit helped sparked a rally for the Dirtbags.

The next day, as the Dirtbags prepared to play three more games in the tournament, David came back to the baseball field to cheer on his teammates from the sideline. Even with a hurt arm. He didn’t want to go home. So as the Dirtbags continued battling in the tournament, right there every step of the way was Busbin with his arm in a sling made from a pillowcase.

The Dirtbags went on to win the tournament. And David stood next to his teammates to during the trophy presentation, arm still in a sling.

“Dave didn’t want to go home,” said Dirtbag’s coach Ruben Guerrero. “He wanted to be there for his teammates and coaches. David sat out there for three games cheering his teammates on and getting them fired up.”

After the tournament, David had surgery for the broken elbow he suffered on the play that helped sparked Okeechobee’s rally and eventual tournament win.

“His siblings may call him a mama's boy, but this is one tough kid,” said David’s mom Stephanie Busbin.

Two days after the surgery, on Sept. 29, David’s Chobee Dirtbag teammates surprised him with a parade at his home. His mom asked to check the mail and as he walked out to mailbox a train of honking cars and trucks slowly rolled by with teammates holding signs of support.

David shows off his new cast to coach Ruben
David shows off his new cast to coach Ruben

David will be out of commission for the rest of the Chobee Dirtbag season, but even if he’s not on the field, coach Ruben says Busbin exemplifies what the team is all about.

“I always get ask why I named the team ‘Chobee Dirtbags’,” said Guerrero. “My answer is always the same. I tell them I want tough, hard nosed and unselfish players. I want kids who play the game hard for themselves and their teammates. This young man stayed with his teammates and coaches cheering them on with a broken elbow. This is the type of kid I want on my team.”

Next the Dirtbags are hosting a baseball tournament here in Okeechobee starting on Oct. 9.

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