WASHINGTON — All Taylor Duncan wanted to do was play baseball. Not professionally, like many boys growing up in America do, just for fun, just to be a part of the game, to throw, and hit, and catch, and run the bases like everyone else.
But as he grew up, he quickly realized that his opportunity to do that was vanishing. Diagnosed with autism, his coaches didn’t know what to do with him, except not to play him. He found himself pushed to the periphery of the sport he loved, a glorified spectator with a jersey on.
“I faced a lot of preconceived ideas growing up,” Duncan, now 22, told WTOP. “Because of that I was often benched, because the coach would always say, ‘You’re an injury risk, you’re a safety risk, because you have autism.’”
As a teenager, Duncan didn’t have a viable solution. But he realized that he likely wasn’t the only one this was happening to.
So he started his own league.
In 2016, the Alternative Baseball Organization was born. Starting in the greater Atlanta area, where Duncan grew up and lives today, it has expanded to 25 teams in 13 states, and is a registered 501(c)(3) charity. The Washington region is among the next expansion areas, with teams slated for Leesburg, Virginia, and both Frederick and Aberdeen, Maryland, this spring.
“I realized, you know, there are other communities like ours that might not have the resources, might not have the opportunities that we have here,” Duncan said.
The coed league is intended for children 15 and up and adults. It is inclusive not just to those at various levels on the autism spectrum, but to others with special needs, such as developmental and learning challenges, including Down syndrome (“We leave that up to each parent whether our program would be a good fit or not,” Duncan said). But make no mistake — it is real baseball, played under Major League rules.
The basepaths are 90 feet, the pitcher’s mound 60 feet, six inches from home plate. They use wooden bats, just like the pros. The only difference is the ball, larger and softer than a regular baseball, which has helped prevent injuries, as it is a fully player-pitch league. Those who are just starting out may hit off a tee, if necessary, but yes, there is competition. The competition is the whole point.
“We want to get to the point where we’re starting tournaments, we’re starting citywide leagues,” Duncan said.
Duncan started the league at age 20 in 2016 and hopes to continue to grow it across the country, for reasons both personal and practical. He’s got designs on a 2020 national tournament to bring everyone together, but there is a reason for launching the triumvirate of teams in the area simultaneously, one that anyone who has played in a specialized sport will appreciate: They need the competition.
Duncan said most of the field time is donated, and that while the local managers in our area will ultimately be responsible for figuring out where they will play, the league is always looking for donations in the form of fields, uniform and equipment, and money to help them spread the word through advertising, to help make sure those in their areas of expansion know this option is available to them.
“We’d love any help we can possibly get, especially for them just starting out,” Duncan said.
To learn more about the Alternative Baseball Organization, check out their website at alternativebaseball.org.
