WPBL player Brittany Apgar's search for accessibility solution gains online support

Brittany Apgar often viewed social media as a scary place. But when she ran into a challenge related to her limb difference ahead of her Women's Pro Baseball League debut, Apgar was overwhelmed by how many strangers stepped up to the plate with ideas to help her live out her dream. Apgar, 22, was drafted by the Los Angeles franchise in the newly-formed WPBL following a journey filled with resilience and grit.

Apgar was born without her right hand, but doctors constructed a longer limb and wrist joint after 13 surgeries that "helps me hold the bat," she told USA TODAY Sports. Apgar has played a lot of ball, from an all-boys Little League team in North Carolina to college softball for Greensboro. She experienced an injury during a spring training event in March.

Apgar's nub split open during an at-bat due to the impact of an 80 mph pitch on her bat. "I just see the blood dripping out and I was like, "Oh god, I can't tell anybody about this because I'm going to look like a liability,'" Apgar recalled to USA TODAY. "That's when I realized there's no way that I can play consistently 3-4 games a week if I split the nub in the first game.

" She apprehensively turned to the internet to solicit advice on how to brace her right nub and avoid injury as the WPBL Opening Day on Aug. 1 nears. The response to Apgar's Instagram — where her bio reads, "personality 10/10, hands 1/2" — blew her away and ignited a "nationwide group project" titled #protectthenub.