At the Meetings and on the comeback trail

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland -- "America loves a good comeback story. People never get tired of hearing about someone who never gives up and works hard to achieve what they're looking to do."

It's Tuesday night and the Baseball Winter Meetings are in full swing. Vic Christopher is standing in the crowded lobby of the Gaylord National Resort, ready and willing to pitch a comeback story to anyone who'll listen.

"I've seen this kid work incredibly hard. He works out every day. He throws every day. And he's a good guy," continued Christopher, nattily attired in a three-piece suit, speaking in a thick Brooklyn accent. "And when you're a good guy and people like you and they want to work with you, those opportunities are there. You need that blend of being a good person and being able to work, to have a good comeback story. He's 30 years old, he can throw 100 miles an hour and he's in the best shape of his life."

Christopher is touting the virtues of Eric Beaulac, a fellow resident of Troy, New York. Beaulac pitched in the Minor Leagues between 2008-13, first for the Mets and then the Orioles. He even got a September callup to Baltimore in 2012, although a torn labrum prevented him from ever appearing in a game. The right-hander was released by the Orioles in 2013 and retired the following season after a brief and dispiriting independent league stint.

Beaulac is looking to get back in the game and Christopher, a former assistant general manager with the New York Penn League's Tri-City ValleyCats, is serving as his agent. This unlikely duo traveled to the Winter Meetings to mix and mingle and, hopefully, entice a Major League organization to take a flyer on a 30-year-old with a dream.

"I've known Vic for a long time now, ever since I was delivering pizza for DeFazio's Pizzeria down in Troy," Beaulac said. "We hit it off. I was a baseball guy, he was a baseball guy. ... This past year, in the beginning of the summer, I kept explaining my passion for baseball. He said, 'You want to give this another shot?' And I remember the text I sent him. 'More than you want to breathe.' And that was the beginning."

Christopher, who owns several successful businesses in downtown Troy, sprang into action on Beaulac's behalf.

"There's a local group called the Affinity Sports Group," he said. "I know one of the guys there through [the ValleyCats] because he used to represent some of the players in the New York-Penn League. I called him up and said, 'Look, I want to represent this guy. I don't want a cut. He's my friend. He's looking for another shot and I feel that he should be back in the big leagues. He got so close to having that success, and I just want to see this kid successful. I want to represent him at no charge, but I need you guys to back me in doing so.' And they said OK."

Beaulac, generally less animated than Christopher, exuded a similar confidence in his own abilities.

"I started to heal while in independent ball and when I got out I started really hitting the workouts again -- hitting the weight room, doing physical therapy," he said. "I woke up one day and said, 'What am I doing? I feel great. Why not?' Like I always tell Vic, 'I don't have a wife. I don't have kids. I don't have a mortgage.' This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, so why not? It's exciting."

One of the Winter Meetings' biggest components is the annual PBEO Job Fair, geared toward those looking to break into professional baseball. Beaulac said the lobby of the Gaylord National Resort was his own personal job fair, as a fortuitous encounter with a sympathetic executive could help pave the way for his great American comeback story.

"It's been great. I've seen so many great faces and Vic knows so many people," he said. "I've been having great conversations, really just seeing what's out there, putting feelers out. ... I have an open invitation tryout on Jan. 15 at the Watervliet Dome [in Watervliet, New York]. I'm really going to try to prove my worth. I know this game and I know that you need to put up or shut up. I really want to show them what I have and, hopefully, somebody likes what they see."

Hearing Beaulac speak produced another burst of enthusiasm from his agent.

"I feel that Eric Beaulac can inspire all the baseball fans throughout the country," Christopher concluded. "They're gonna look at him and see what he's trying to do and say to themselves, 'Maybe it's not baseball, but I can be like that guy and try to make my dreams come true.' I think he's an inspiration to all of us and the people who meet him. We're all rooting for him."