gamer
n.— «“Blue’s such a damn good battler, the way he puts his heart and soul into it, that he really impresses me,” said Philadelphia slugger Mike Schmidt. “He’s a gamer,” Schmidt added.» —“Joyful Blue Humining, Eyes 2nd Young Award” by Thomas Boswell in Philadelphia, Pa. Washington Post Aug. 20, 1978. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)