New baseball league gives young people with autism the chance to grab a glove
Major League Baseball may be underway, but the pandemic has put youth baseball and other leagues on hold for much of the northwest.
That is not stopping the organizer of a unique amateur league from pushing forward with a plan to give young people on the autism spectrum a chance to grab a glove and bat and take to the baseball fields around the Puget Sound.
It’s called Alternative Baseball and it’s specifically designed for young people 15 and up who have been diagnosed with autism.
Alternative Baseball started in Dallas, Georgia a few years back. It was created by a young man with autism, Taylor Duncan.
“This is a chance for us to provide a traditional experience that a lot of us were denied whilegrowing up because of the social stigma surrounding those on the autism spectrum,” said Duncan. “Some people think we can’t do as much as our other peers, but we can when we’re given the support to be able to succeed.”
Duncan says it’s important that teens and young adults who are on the spectrum get a chance to play baseball and for many it’s their only chance to play a sport, be a teammate, and compete together.
“We win together, we lose together and when we’re down we pick each other up. That’s what we need to do in our real lives as well, and that’s so important for success in life off the baseball diamond as well.”
The league started a team in Tacoma last year, but Duncan has a bold plan to expend the number of teams, in time for next spring and hopefully the start of baseball season. He is pushing to start teams from Olympia to Port Angeles, Everett, Bellevue, and Oak Harbor. But he says those teams need players and volunteers to coach and manage as well.
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