Former MLB pitcher Ben McDonald shares how emotional moment while hunting led to big buck kill

Ben McDonald, a former MLB No. 1 pick, made a touching tribute to his late father in a social media post on Sunday.

McDonald wrote on X he was out hunting when he began to think about his dad. Suddenly, a giant buck approached him, and he was able to bag him.

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"I normally don’t share too many of my thoughts on social but this is too good not to share. I lost my dad in January…sitting in a bowstand yesterday enjoying hunting season without him for the first time gave me a chance to reflect on all the hours we spent together on ball fields, basketball courts, and in the deer woods," McDonald wrote. "I was having a conversation with him telling him how much I miss him and thanking him for everything he did for us and our family and the many sacrifices he made. 

"I had a good cry as I wish he was still here for one more hunting season or just to have one more talk….5 minutes after I dried my eyes and focused back on the hunt….out walked an absolute giant….this buck could have gone anywhere in the 6 acre plot but followed a doe to 24 yards under my tree….the shot was true as he bounded out in the middle of the plot and tipped over in seconds!

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"No doubt this was divine intervention courtesy of the man upstairs and #PawPaw ….the great outdoors is home for me….its where I’m probably most comfortable! It’s not always about the harvest it’s about making memories! This buck will always be know as #PawPaw’s Buck!"

McDonald joked that he does not want anyone to tell his wife that he gets emotional.

McDonald was a star pitcher at LSU before the Baltimore Orioles selected him No. 1 overall in 1989. He became a fairly serviceable pitcher in his prime.

He had a 3.91 ERA with 894 strikeouts in 211 appearances. He spent the final two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. The final season of his career was in 1997.

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