There's no quit in 12-year-old Ty Murphy

A 12-year-old catcher made a mistake in a travel baseball game recently. It was the type of mistake that often occurs at that age level early in the season.

Runners on first and third, no outs. Runner on first took off for second base. The catcher threw the ball to second, allowing the runner on third to jog home for an easy run.

The coach reminded the catcher not to make that throw. The kid knew that he screwed up. I felt uncomfortable watching it all unfold.

Uncomfortable not because of the mistake but because the catcher has only one arm, and I've admired that kid's competitive spirit from afar and, well, I just didn't want to see him struggle.

Then I met Ty Murphy a few days later.

The sixth-grader made it clear he doesn't believe in pity parties.

"It just pushes me to try harder," he said.

In his heart, Ty believes he can conquer sports with one functioning arm.

He's a pitcher, plays catcher and first base and frequently bats leadoff for his Oakdale travel team.

Murphy is a shooting guard in basketball, though he's pretty sure he would be a dynamite point guard, too.

He tried lacrosse a few years ago and also plays on a soccer team.

Ty even played safety in tackle football for two years. Having only one arm didn't deter him.

He's not the best player on any of those teams. But no kid plays harder or enjoys the competition more than he does.

At a recent practice, he worked on making diving catches in the outfield. He jumped up after each highlight catch singing the ESPN "SportsCenter" jingle — DaDaDa DaDaDa.

As a first baseman, he loves to climb the fence chasing foul balls.

"Very fearless," his mom Tracie said.

Ty catches and throws much like former major league pitcher Jim Abbott. He tucks his glove in his right arm pit when he throws and then quickly slips his glove on the same hand to catch.

Ty asked his parents if he could stop wearing his prosthetic in the middle of last season. They weren't sure why.

Turns out, he wanted to switch hit, which he couldn't do with his device.

"If you put him in any situation," Bart said, "he figures out how to do it."

Bart and Tracie never worried about their son's ability to play sports. Never hesitated to sign him up. Never wanted him to be treated differently.

Their philosophy: Give him opportunities and he will figure it out.

Occasionally, when he's tired or cranky or feeling off, Ty will use his arm as an excuse.

"He'll say, 'Remember, I only have one arm,' " Tracie said. "But then we just say, 'We don't go there here. So what if you only have one arm? Figure it out.' "

The Murphys encourage their son's self-confidence by exposing him to other one-handed athletes. Ty knows all about Abbott's story, of course.

The Murphys also sought out former DeLaSalle High School pitcher Ben Albert after seeing media reports about him. They took Ty to watch Albert pitch in a game.

Those lessons reinforce that anything is possible. Not that Ty ever really doubts himself.

Kids on other teams know it, too. The Murphys often overhear comments and compliments directed at their son. A coach at a baseball tournament referenced Ty during a pep talk.

"He was telling his kids: 'I don't ever want to hear you kids complaining again. Look at that kid at first base,' " Bart said.

One kid in the handshake line told Ty that he admires him, which caught him off-guard.

"Why do they admire me?" Ty asked his mom.

Why? Because of his go-get-'em attitude, because he refuses to place limitations on himself, because of the way he celebrates a diving catch in practice.

"Don't let disabilities hold you back," he said.

And with that, he jumped on his bike and headed for home.

Chip Scoggins

chip.scoggins@startribune.com