Everytime Southern Bonne’s designated hitter Parker Salter approaches the plate, AOK by Tai Verdes plays as his walkup music.
On Monday evening, after the song played for a third time, Salter stepped up to the plate in his Air Jordan cleats, looking for his first hit in a scoreless ballgame between Southern Boone (16-7) and Booneville (13-9). With a man on second base, the lefty swung at a breaking ball, which flew into right field, allowing the runner to score, breaking the tie. The 1-0 score held, giving the Eagles their sixth victory in the past seven games.
“I was 0-2 on the day, so it was finally nice to get a hit go through,” Salter said. “I feel like I’ve been in kind of a slump, so it’s nice to get a hit, especially for being in such an important position.”
Within the song by Verdes, the snippet that plays when Salter approaches the plate is “I’ll know I’ll be A-O, A-O-K, I know I’ll be a-O, A-O-K when I see trouble come my way, I’ll be makin’ lemonade. I’ll know I’ll be A-O, A-O-K, I’ll know I’ll be A-O, A-O-K.”
It’s more than just lyrics to Salter; it’s symbolic to him of keeping his head held high.
“It just reflects what I’m going through and just how everything will be okay,” Salter said.
2025 is Salter’s first season playing high school baseball after an unfortunate sequence of injuries has kept him from competing on the baseball diamond.
In eighth grade, he broke his collarbone playing football. During football in his freshman year of high school, he tore both labrums in his shoulders.
“I got one healed,” Salter said. “I didn’t realize my other labrum was torn until baseball season, so I just skipped out on baseball season to get that fixed.”
Salter opted not to participate on the gridiron in his sophomore year, but on the basketball court, he tore his ACL forcing him to miss the rest of the year, including baseball.
He decided not to play football as a sophomore, but on the basketball court, Salter tore his ACL, forcing him to miss the rest of the season..
The downpour continued his junior season.
After not participating in basketball and football his junior year, he tore his ACL again, participating in a student council dodgeball game shortly before Southern Boone’s 2024 baseball season, wiping out three years of athletics.
“It’s been a lot of headache on him, his family, and his teammates,” Southern Boone head baseball coach Brian Ash said. “Every year, you’re counting that he’s going to be back, and then something freaky happens.”
Physically, injuries take their toll, but the mental aspect is sometimes not talked about enough. For Salter, though, he’s mentally handled his circumstances phenomenally, according to Ash. Salter has acknowledged that while what he’s gone through isn’t ideal, he’s still appreciative of the position that he’s in now.
“I’m happy. There’s always someone in a worse position,” Salter said. “I know I may be in a worse position than a lot of other people, but there’s a lot of people that can’t even play baseball, and there’s a lot of people that can’t even walk, so I just take everything I can for granted.”
Salter wears a brace on his leg, and coming into the year, he suffered a minor setback as he tore his hip labrum in preseason. But luckily, it wasn’t serious enough to hold him back in his final year.
“He’s not 100% healthy,” Ash said. “But, he’s gutting it out; he’s running as hard as he can every single time he hits the ball. He was not going to lose his senior year.”
The perseverance and willingness to stick through the tough times have transformed Salter into a confident, natural leader who is willing to step into big moments like the one against Booneville.
“He does all that stuff, all those intangible things that you got to have,” Ash said. “I think all the kids have seen what he’s gone through, and so when they’re feeling sorry for themselves, it’s kind of like, you take a look at him, and like, okay, this dude’s been out for years and he’s finally back.
On Mar. 28 against Moberly, Salter collected his first career hit. Southern Boone, the No. 9 team in Class 4, has beaten four state-ranked teams and, Salter has been soaking in his entire senior season.
“I would just say I’ve lived every moment to the fullest,” Salter said. “It’s been super nice to at least just hit, and it’s nice to be with my friends and have fun again and to be able to play rather than just sit on the bench. So, every moment is really important.”
His message to people in similar circumstances echoes a similar message that his walkup song says.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Salter said. “It might suck, like, why you’re going through rehab and injury, but you will have your opportunity to shine like I did today, and everything will be better.”
Salter is finally able to flourish, and he’s making every second count.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Inside Parker Salter’s inspiring comeback for Southern Boone baseball
