Florida State Seminoles baseball coach Link Jarrett praised slugger Marco Dinges for overcoming what he described as over the top medical issues.
Marco Dinges found himself in Shands Hospital a year ago. There, he battled constant fevers that made it difficult to talk at times. In the end, he was suffering from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, which is a condition where the immune system is attacking the body. It also has a mortality rate of 40 percent. Luckily, he responded well to treatment and, despite the disease severely weakening him physically, Dinges was able to eventually return to baseball.
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“Resilient. Dynamic,” Link Jarrett said. “What he went through medically was over the top. He’s fortunate that he was able to recover and the body recovered, and he regained his form.”
At the time, Florida State was offering Marco Dinges a walk-on spot for the 2023-24 season. However, not wanting to admit how much strength he’d lost, he turned to the Tallahassee Community College coaches, Correy Figueroa and Bryan Henry, to help regain the strength. He also would go on to credit former Florida State assistant and current UCF head coach Rich Wallace for helping him secure his spot with the Seminoles.
Today, Marco Dinges is batting cleanup for Florida State. There, he’s thrived as a DH for Florida State. He is currently hitting .321 in 57 games played this season. He also has a .604 slugging percentage and a .415 on-base percentage. Dinges also has 15 home runs and 64 RBIs.
“He’s just a dynamic, fun kid. He’s fun to have around, and it’s a dynamic bat. It’s a dynamic personality. He’s a great kid. So, this has been really fun, personally, to watch him evolve and grow. I think he’s positioned himself really well for the next level of baseball and what’s looming when we get to the draft in a month,” Jarrett said.
“So, he’s awesome and he’s a functional catcher. He did so well DHing and we clearly have other capable catchers that we kind of just let that go, but I’m so proud of what he overcame and what he’s done and the foundation that he’s laid himself here that’s going to help him when the draft rolls around in a month.”
When it does come time for the MLB Draft, it will be interesting to see what MLB teams think of Marco Dinges, given his blend of power and ability to catch while battling back from his illness.
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