Verge: Loss of two fingers won’t keep Paul from pursuing baseball dream

Sudbury Voyageurs right-hander Braiden Paul (Espanola, Ont.) lost the tops of two fingers in a shop class accident last fall, but it hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his dream of playing college baseball. Photo supplied.

March 4, 2026

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

In the moments after losing his fingers, fear trumped pain for Braiden Paul.

Would he be able to play baseball again?

That question was top of mind for the pitcher from Espanola, Ont., after a gruesome accident in his high school shop class left a large chunk of two of his fingers missing.

Paul was using the jointer tool on a piece of wood in class when it slipped, and his right hand drove into the blade of the machine, severing his ring and middle finger.

The first phone call the 18-year-old made after the injury was to his head coach, Parker Savard, with the Sudbury Voyageurs.

“I was freaking out about not being able to play baseball again, that was the only thing I was thinking about,” Paul said.

While others may have hung up their glove for good, the right hander didn't give up, motivated by his love for the game.

In the weeks following his injury, which occurred on October 14, 2025, Paul first tried teaching himself to throw with his left hand, after his dad helped him set up an area in their garage. After the bandages came off, he switched back to his right hand in mid-December, just two months after losing his fingers. At first, he was cautious with it, but before long, he was building his velocity back up.

He's since adapted the delivery of his splitter. Before, he was throwing it by holding the ball with his pointer and middle finger on the horseshoe of the baseball. Post injury, he’s adapted the pitch to work with the fingers he has - now squeezing the ball with his pointer and pinky finger instead.

The right hand of Sudbury Voyageurs pitcher Braiden Paul (Espanola, Ont.) after he lost the top of two fingers in a shop class accident. Photo supplied.

That persistence in the face of adversity is an attitude that his longtime coach, Jean-Gilles Larocque, has witnessed since Paul was 12.

“I've never seen such an optimistic, positive person,” Larocque said, who currently coaches Paul on both the Sudbury Voyageurs and his high school team, the St. Charles Cardinals.

For the past three years, Paul has been one of their top hitters, batting .350 consistently in back-to-back seasons. He's also been their top right-handed pitcher, Larocque said, with a nasty breaking ball he doesn't shy away from throwing in 3-0 and 2-0 counts.

On top of his pitching prowess, Braiden Paul (Espanola, Ont.) is also a strong hitter. Photo supplied.

It's not the first time Larocque has seen an injury almost sideline Paul from the sport. When he was 12, he broke both of his legs in an ATV accident and had to use a wheelchair for four months. He would still show up to the ball field to watch, Larocque said, and slowly battled his way back to playing again after extensive physiotherapy.

What was the first thing he asked his dad, Adam Paul, after breaking both legs? In an almost deja vu moment to his recent injury, the main concern Paul had was surrounding his future in baseball.

“Am I ever going to play baseball again?” Paul asked.

And he has, unwilling to quit despite the injuries being stacked against him.

The grade 12 student at St. Charles College is taking an extra year of high school, and will play for the St. Charles Cardinals at the end of the school year.

Post high school, he’s determined to continue his baseball career and play for a college in the states.

He's throwing often, lifting, and attending practice, holding himself accountable by making up the work if he ever has to miss playing.

Missing two fingers or not - he's bringing his A game to the diamond.

“I don't think my approach physically or mentally in the game has changed at all,” Paul said.

“I'm still going to be the same player I was before.”

And, as he says to his teammates and coaches before taking the field as a pre-game cheer…

“Roll Cards and Roll Vees!”