South Carolina-bound pitcher overcame years of humiliation to follow his dream

Wade Spees
The Post and Courier

Marty Gantt

The stares, taunts and tears are a distant memory now.

Marty Gantt is living the dream of a lifetime. He recently concluded his high school baseball career at North Augusta High School as one of the best left-handed pitchers in the state, having enough potential to earn a scholarship to play baseball for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. If that isn't enough, his girlfriend, Stephanie Rozier, will represent South Carolina in the Miss Teen USA pageant in Las Vegas next month.

Yes, life is good.

But there was a time when all Marty Gantt could do was cry.

He was born with a deformed right hand. When he was in his mother's womb, the umbilical cord wrapped around his fingers, stunting growth beyond the knuckles. When he was a youngster, the bus ride home from school often would be painful as his classmates and other students made fun of Gantt because they perceived him to be different.

His mother, Theresa, would be there to greet and comfort him. She always offered the same advice.

"Someone was picking on me and I came home crying," recalled Gantt, who is spending the summer as a member of the Diamond Devils 18-U traveling baseball team.

"My mom told me I wasn't any different than them. She told me I could do whatever I wanted."

What Gantt wanted to do — what he loved to do — is play baseball.

His father, Bobby, is a longtime baseball coach and the younger Gantt tagged along with his father. He practiced with boys much older than himself, but he had fun and he had potential. He worked hard every day, throwing, batting and running. He developed a fastball, changeup, curve and a nasty slider as a pitcher, and a keen eye as a batter.

By the time he enrolled at North Augusta High, the 5-11 pitcher was good enough to make an impact. As a freshman, he was 3-1 as a pitcher and led the team with a .380 batting average.

He was one of the best players in the state his junior season. He posted a 9-3 record, striking out 161 batters in 84 innings of work. His best performance his junior season might have been a 16-strikeout-performance in a loss to Hartsville in the first game of the state championship series. He batted .486, collecting 16 doubles. He was named to the SCBCA all-state team and was named the Class AAAA Player of the Year.

"Marty Gantt is probably the best high school pitcher I've seen in my 17 years of coaching high school baseball," Midland Valley coach Bruce Zuelhke, president of the SCBCA, said in an interview with the Augusta Chronicle last spring.

Gantt pitched well in the championship series, but Hartsville won the title. Soon after, Gantt, a Clemson fan, committed to play for Tanner's Gamecocks.

"I was real excited to have a chance to play for a school like that, in a conference like the SEC," Gantt said. "To play in a program that is good year in and year out is an honor."

Gantt had a solid senior season, posting an 8-3 record with a 1.95 ERA. He struck out 108 batter in 65 2/3 innings of work. He pitched two no-hitters and a one-hitter. He earned all-state honors again, and played in the South Carolina vs. North Carolina Select All-Star Game.

His fastball hits nearly 90 mph, but his speciality pitch is his backdoor slider, a pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks back over the plate.

"He has one of the top two or three (sliders) for a high school guy I've seen," said Diamond Devils coach John Rhodes, a former scout for the Cincinnati Reds organization who has been in baseball for nearly three decades.

Gantt and the Diamond Devils conclude playing in a showcase tournament today at USC, and then head to Clemson on Friday for another tournament.

He provides inspiration for anybody who has ever dreamed of playing baseball at a high level.

"I like to set an example for young kids, especially if they have a physical disability," Gantt said. "If you work hard, dream, you can do it. If there's a will, there's a way."

Reach Philip M. Bowman at pbowman@postandcourier.com or at 937-5592.