Jason King...CT Tigers 3B...

from Detroit Fox Sports:

"Jason King lost his mother to cancer during his senior year of high school. Less than three years later, he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2010 season.

All the heartache, pain and misfortune only made King, a switch-hitting third baseman at Kansas State, more determined than ever to live out his dream of playing professional baseball.

In difficult times, King often thought back to his mother's request in her dying days: "Don't mourn my death, put a smile on your face and move forward."

That message was posted on the refrigerator in the family's home in Dublin, Ohio. Carrying out his mom's motto is a big reason King will fulfill his dream later this week when he joins the Detroit Tigers' minor-league system.

King, through it all, kept moving forward. He was selected in the fourth round by Detroit in the recent major league draft. He is expected to begin his pro career Friday with the Connecticut Tigers, a Single-A short-season affiliate.

"I'm proud as hell of him for staring adversity in the face and saying, 'I'm going to win,' " said Jeff King, Jason's father and a former baseball player at Ohio State from 1982-84.

Jason King, who turned 22 on Tuesday, chuckled as he reflected on the start of his pro career.

"I've been pretty much groomed for this from birth," he said.

His dad put a batting cage in the basement of their home and taught his two sons to become switch-hitters from the first day they could swing a bat.

Meanwhile, King's grandfather on his mother's side was a former Ohio State football player. Frank Ellwood played quarterback for legendary coach Woody Hayes in the mid-1950s and later was an assistant on Hayes' staff before becoming the head coach at Marshall.

"I had it coming at me from both sides my whole life," Jason King said, laughing.

The family changed forever in July 2005, when Jason King's mother, Susan, was diagnosed with colon cancer. She died Nov. 7, 2006."