MINNEOLA, Fla -- Every swing of the bat is stronger than the storm for one Lake Minneola baseball player.

"You can't spend your whole life hiding," said Lake Minneola sophomore Adam Gottesman. "It hurts sometimes, I have those days where im like I dont wanna get out of bed, but I have to. I still get up and come here and work my butt off to make it."

Make it: to the big leagues. Adam draws inspiration from his favorite Yankees player Aaron Judge.

"He shows me what you can do no matter what your situation is," said Gottesman.

Adams’ beginnings are similar to Aaron Judge, both were adopted at a young age. 

"His life span is shortened because the mitochondiral star to die off," said Adam's mom Jill Gottesman-Kelley. "At least thats what we’ve been told.

Adam was born with a rare disease called Cytochrome C Oxidase Deficiency, where the cells in the body can’t produce proper energy. As his medical needs grew at age four… Jill, who was Adam's speech pathologist at the time, ended up taking custody of him. 

"People have asked me would I have changed my mind if I knew this was the way it was going to be, and I said no," said Gottesman-Kelley. "Adam stole my heart from the moment he looked at me."

Daily challenges range from headaches to seizures, and a number of hospital visits and surgeries in between. The Gottesman family recently moved from upstate New York to Florida when living in cold weather was no longer a safe option for Adam's health.

"I'm choking up. This kid is, you dont know from day to day but yet he’s living every day the best he can," said Lake Minneola baseball coach Kerry Whetro.

Kelly called Coach Whetro ahead of the Lake Minneola fall baseball season and explained Adam's desire to be part of a team for the first time. Now, he doesn't have to fight alone.

"Having him here has just turned it around, just turned these kids around," said Whetro. "Even the fans who question, why is that young man out there? Now they're starting to see. There's a difference."

While there may be pain or struggles, Adam’s out there practicing every day. 

"I know that its not easy for everyone to talk about the team and be so positive all while going through adversities such as Adam," said Lake Minneola senior Keegan Jay. "But it doesn't seem to phase him he just pushes through it like its nothing. Hes a fighter, he’s got that fighter mentality."

At the end of each fall game, Adam was able to step up to the plate for the final at-bat. To some it’d mean little. But to Adam, one swing of the bat proves he’s stronger than the storm.

"I’ll sit here through every single game just so he knows I'm sitting here," said Gottesman-Kelley. "First time he came up to bat I was like 'oh no what is this gonna be'. I saw the coach go out there and the other team was well aware of what was going on and he went and he hit and he ran and everyone was clapping and cheering. What got me the most was his team storming the field showing just how important he means to them. Watching that brought tears to my eyes and still does."

"Just knowing that my teammates care about me and love me that much to come to home plate and celebrate with me," said Gottesman.

As much as Adam is an inspiration to the team, it is felt both ways as the Lake Minneola baseball team rallied around something greater than themselves.