Jim Eisenreich.

If there was ever a ballplayer who had to overcome big challenges, it was Jim.

Oh, he could play all right.

But a debilitating condition nearly ended his career before it started.

He fought his way back and later helped families facing the same frightening questions he once had.

Born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Eisenreich was drafted by his hometown Twins in 1980. By 1982, he was their starting center fielder.

That’s when his struggles began.

He suffered uncontrollable twitches and bouts of hyperventilation. He felt faint and feared that everyone in the stadium was watching him.

It got so bad that he asked to come out of games.

Doctors diagnosed Eisenreich with agoraphobia. The Twins thought it was stage fright.

Eisenreich knew it was more than that.

Some fans taunted him. Some coaches mocked him. Some teammates kept their distance.

In 1984, Eisenreich left the team and retired at 25.

He couldn’t figure out what was happening to him.

The answer would come later. It would change his life.

Back home in St. Cloud, Eisenreich played for the St. Cloud Saints, a semipro team, and worked odd jobs. The major leagues seemed a distant memory.

Then, in 1985, he got the answer.

Eisenreich had Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause involuntary movements and sounds called tics.

The CDC says studies estimate that 1 in 162 children have Tourette syndrome.

Eisenreich first experienced these symptoms as a child: facial tics and jerks, along with fits of clearing his throat.

His parents had taken him to see doctors who assured them he would grow out of it.

Tourette syndrome. Now what?

It would take some time to understand and accept what the diagnosis meant. He had spent years trying to control symptoms that only seemed to get worse.

Eisenreich began learning everything he could about Tourette syndrome.

Medication helped, but finding the right balance was a challenge. The early doses eased his symptoms but left him sluggish and drowsy.

Meanwhile, Eisenreich kept playing for the Saints. He hit .540 in 1985 and .460 in 1986. Yeah, he could still hit.

Then came the question.

Could he manage his symptoms—and make it back to the big leagues?

He got his chance.

The Twins had moved on.

But the Kansas City Royals claimed Eisenreich off waivers for $1.

One dollar.

In 1987, he reported to the Royals’ minor-league camp. By June, he was back in the major leagues.

Back in the show.

In 1989, his third season with Kansas City, Eisenreich was voted the Royals’ Player of the Year, beating out Bo Jackson.

He later signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and homered in the 1993 World Series.

Watch Eisenreich homer in the 1993 World Series

Four years later, he homered again in the World Series, helping the Florida Marlins win the championship.

Watch Eisenreich homer in the 1997 World Series

That home-run ball in 1997 would take on special meaning.

Two fans from Toronto caught the ball. Cleveland fans pleaded with them to throw it back onto the field. They refused.

A pretty good souvenir. But it would become much more.

On the drive home, they listened to Eisenreich on the post game show discussing Tourette syndrome.

One of the guys turned to his friend and asked, “Do you think that’s what my daughter has?”

The next day, he and his wife took their daughter to a doctor. She was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

Two years later, Eisenreich spoke at the Canadian National Tourette Conference in Toronto. The couple tracked down Jim there and handed him the home-run ball as a thank-you.

Eisenreich later said that moment helped him understand how his baseball career and his experience with Tourette syndrome—could make a difference in someone else’s life.

Eisenreich retired after 15 major-league seasons. Fifteen.

For a career that almost never happened, pretty, pretty good.

But baseball wasn’t the end of his story.

He started the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette Syndrome, helping families searching for answers hear from someone who understood what they were facing.

One of those kids was San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman. When Chapman began showing symptoms as a child and was bullied, his father pointed to Eisenreich as proof that Tourette syndrome wouldn’t decide what his son could do.

Years later, Chapman went public with his diagnosis and began speaking to kids himself.

Today, at 67, Eisenreich lives in Kansas City and still speaks with families dealing with Tourette syndrome. He remains an inspiration to so many kids and a reminder that a diagnosis doesn’t define what’s possible.

John Boxley
Whatever Happened To…?

Want to learn more about Tourette syndrome? Visit the Tourette Association of America.
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