Former MLB player shares love of the game

Max Sapp can’t remember a time when baseball wasn’t a part of his life.

As a child, the 32-year-old Winter Garden resident and former Major League Baseball player was happiest when he had a bat in his hand.

“I grew up around baseball my whole entire life,” he said. “We had a batting cage in our backyard, and I would hit three every single day until my parents would say, ‘Stop.’ … I was having so much fun (I wouldn’t want to stop playing).” 

And he was gifted — so much so that the Houston Astros selected him in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft. 

However, his MLB career was short-lived. Just two years later, on Dec. 11, 2008, Sapp experienced the first seizure that would change his life.

Sapp developed meningitis — an inflammation of the fluid and the membranes that surround the brain and the spinal cord. 

After being admitted at Florida Hospital, doctors placed him in a coma for about 17 days. He was put on a ventilator to help him breathe. 

“I had to (relearn) how to walk, and that was tough, because you don’t really know what you are doing, but you don’t want to end on a chair the rest of your life,” Sapp said. “So that was one of my biggest goals.” 

Because of the residual seizures caused by the meningitis, Sapp retired from playing professional baseball. However, even though he is no longer playing, Sapp’s influence on the game remains mighty.

OPENING THE ACADEMY

In 2015, Sapp opened his own baseball and softball academy called Max Sapp Baseball Academy, in Winter Garden.

“I love teaching lessons, because I want to teach the kids the right way how to play the sport,” he said. “I would say I’m an instructor (who) wants them to play the game and have fun.

“We are all here for a reason, and my reason was to play baseball,” he said. “But this (teaching and coaching) is baseball … so this hasn’t taken me away from the sport. Once you are in the game, you can’t stop, really. But even though I have seizures, I still have fun with the kids and still throw some balls and still play with them.”

Winter Garden resident Dean Spinogatti learned of Sapp through Windermere Little League Vice President of Operations Krista Kirk about 18 months ago. He asked Sapp if he could coach his daughter — Danika Spinogatti, a softball catcher. 

“To me, Max is someone who is an honest, hard-working guy,” Dean Spinogatti said. “He is someone who had the golden ticket, being drafted right out of high school, and then had a big change in his life. And to be able to still have the passion to be around the game — and help kids the way he does — it’s amazing. He’s got a great demeanor with kids, he’s very receptive, he’s got patience — which is something you need as an instructor. And it seems that his main focus is to try to pass down the knowledge (he has of the sport).” 

Sapp has the ability to see and recognize the things he needs to work with each of his students, regardless of if it is within the world of baseball or softball. 

Depending on the age and skill level of his students, Sapp spends between 30 and 90 minutes working on individual lessons with them. His academy has batting cages, a baseball field and a pitching mount where children can perfect the skills of the sport.

“I always tell them, ‘Let’s work on the basics,’” he said. “All I want is for them to learn how to play the game and have fun.

“I play games with them; it helps them understand the reason why we do certain things in the sport,” he said.

Sapp currently lives with his dad, Jeff Sapp, in a house adjacent to his academy, as he is unable to drive because of the seizures. 

UNDER CONTROL

In the first few years after the first episode, Sapp used to experience at least one seizure every week. Today, it’s been almost a year since his last one.

“It used to be when I felt a seizure coming in, I tried to fight it,” he said. “Now if I feel something coming, I find somebody to help me.” 

Most of Sapp’s students are aware of what they have to do to help him in case he experiences a seizure while they are with him. 

“If I have a seizure, hold my head, (I tell them),” Sapp said. “That’s pretty much what you can do.” 

A normal seizure can last anywhere from one to three minutes. A bad one can last five minutes.

To stabilize him, Sapp has a Vagus Nerve Stimulation device. The implant helps stimulate the vagus nerve, which starts in the brain and runs through the body to carry messages. The device uses electrical impulses to help reduce the number, length and severity of the seizures. 

“If you hear my voice changing, it’s the VNS cord trying to regulate my body,” Sapp said. 

Working on his athleticism also has helped him control the amount of seizures he has been experiencing — so, he practices CrossFit on a regular basis.