Corey Koskie, Back in the Game

Spring training is a time when possibilities are endless.

There's room for unheralded youngsters to raise eyebrows. There's room for grizzled veterans to latch on to new teams.There's even room for those whose best days were behind them to find new life.

Case in point: Corey Koskie.

Former Minnesota Twins' third basemen Corey Koskie is hoping to latch on with the Chicago Cubs as a non-roster invitee. He's been out of baseball for two-and-a-half years with post-concussion syndrome.

This year, doctors say he's fit enough to give it a go.

Koskie doesn't have any illusions about his comeback. He told the Gary Post Tribune that he's hopeful he'll make the Cubs' 25-man roster by the time opening day rolls around. If that doesn't happen, which he admits is likely, he'll accept a minor league assignment.

Don't bet against him taking up third at Wrigley one day, though; he's already beaten the odds once.

Koskie was the Twins' 26th-round draft choice in the 1994 draft. He didn't set the world afire in his first year of organized baseball, hitting just .234 for Elizabethtown in the Rookie League.

But things began to fall into place for Koskie in 1995 at Class A Fort Wayne. His average zoomed over the .300 mark, and he belted 16 home runs. The following year in Fort Myers, Koskie's offensive potential plateaued. He hit just .260 with nine home runs and 55 RBI.

Koskie was moved up to Class AA New Britain in 1997. There, he blossomed, batting .286 with 23 home runs and 79 RBI. In 1998, he moved again, this time to Class AAA Salt Lake, where he batted .301 with 26 home runs and 105 RBI.

Koskie was with the Twins as a regular from 1999 to 2004. He put together his best season in 2001 when he batted .301 with 26 home runs and 103 RBI.

Koskie was playing for the Milwaukee Brewers on July 5, 2006 when he suffered an injury that looked like it might spell the end of his career.

Now, after nearly three years trapped in a physical and mental wasteland, wondering if he'd ever be able to enjoy good health, Koskie is back on the diamond where he wants to be.

Sometimes spring training contains stories that reverberate outside the diamond. Koskie's is one of those. It teaches us that there's always a chance, no matter what the odds, to get back in the game.