Unseen Trailer

Michael Rose.

This is the forty ninth annual World Series of Week Baseball.

And for the first time ever, we have two teams representing the same city, and it is the circle It's a hard sport.

You know, these players, they sacrifice their bodies for this game. Yeah. Yeah.

People don't realize, you know, what it takes to run down to that base when you can't see where you're going.

To me, it's utterly insane. The toll it takes on their bodies this whole week, especially in the World Series.

Players with a you know, they put a blindfold on trying to find the ball and and it's just when they throw the bodies on the ground trying to find it, that tells you how the how much love they have in this sport.

After the batter gets the ball, he's running as fast as he can towards his base.

And you can imagine how he he can't see, but he's running as fast as he can, and he wants to make sure he doesn't miss the base so he's got his arms out. And the next thing you know, he's touched it or he's tumbled over it or flobbered the base. But in his enthusiasm, he wants to get there first before the ball is picked up.

The visually impaired people, of course, have to wear a approved blindfold so that there's no no chance of them seeing through the edges.

In beat baseball, the pitcher, catcher, and the batter are all on the same team. And when the batter hits the ball, the first thing that happens is a sighted person flips a switch that powers a buzzer at first base or at third base. And so the batter will drop the bat and run towards that base that's buzzing.

If they can find the ball first and pick it up, it's considered an out. But the runner touches the base first, it's a run. No other base running. There's no doubles or triples. It's a run or an out.

Without sighted help, they can't have this sport. And I'm just so grateful to be one of those people that can give that to them.

I broke my jaw a few years ago, and ever since then, I've worn a helmet, and it's been a great decision.

Say a ready ball. There's a pop up to left. Oh, it gets under his arms. No one's gonna get to it, and that's gonna be a run for Edge.

You never understand what it feel like when people told you you would never be able to play different sports. People try to hold you back, but I have that will and determination that, you know, you tell me I can't, I know I can.

Most of us don't drive. It's hard to go places. It's hard to meet people. It can be lonely.

Casey, he was good. He's on on track to be a great player.

We started to find out that there were some unusual things going on with his vision, not typical visual problems.

So how did I handle blind stuff? Is there's a word worse than poorly? That would be it.

I think his whole world was honestly turned upside down, and I think that his first big loss was sports.

Until the time he was about twenty one, there was no baseball for him, and that was hard for him. He loves baseball. It's his favorite sport.

Sports was really the first thing that made him feel isolated from the other kids around him.

Justin Rines, his teammate for the Philly fire was the one that, originally put him on, and he really settled in to be baseball and bought in, so it just kinda took off from there.

And within one practice, I was like, this is the ****. Like, I'm I'm I'm coming to this. So I never went back to goalball, and I was at every Saturday practice I could make. And as soon as there was tournaments, I was playing so I was hooked like the second I got there.

He's having fun, he's making connections, he's acting normal.

B baseball has definitely brought sports back for me to play and enjoy and love again.

And I still never forget his words coming off the field after that day, the first day of the games.

Mom, dad, I can't thank you enough for letting me do this. I feel like I'm twelve years old again.

It's not just a game. It's like my it it's my whole family. It's everything. So it's a it's the best part of my life.

I hate the fact that I found the sport, but I'm in love with the sport because of the community.

We are AFAM, you know, the the the entire league. You'll hear a lot of banter during the games, but tonight back at the banquet, we're family.

It gives an opportunity to everybody.

Some people just look for a role model and that's what you try to be out here. Little kids that have visual impairments, look up to people like us.

There are executives, there are lawyers, there are, you know, my son is a college graduate who works with disabled people. They are people making changes in the world.

I have friends from Indiana, from El Paso, from Southern California who I know just from this and I can't wait for this because it's the one time I can see them.

And he's got it. Two out. That two Josh. It's behind them. He's so good.

Winning the World Series was the coolest thing I've ever done. I've won some minor stuff in base like, just played in sports, but nothing like a championship, especially on that scale. You're playing teams from across the country and sometimes even outside of the country.

Philly fire are your two When that last out happened, it was the greatest feeling in the world.

We sprinted all around the field. Everyone's jumping. We're blind people jumping into I almost killed my right fielder because he hadn't even taken his blindfold off, I threw mine, ran, jumped in his arms. My sister's there. She had flown all the way from Pennsylvania just to see the championship game because she was in PA school. I ran to the sideline, picked her up, hugged my parents, running around.

And we got to share that moment. And it's it's a moment I'll never forget. This is better than anything I've ever done playing myself.

This is the greatest thing I've ever and I get to do with my family.

They have many guys who just won a championship but never won a championship.

Congratulations.

Honestly, was a whole team effort.

Wasn't just me out there. All the guys made plays.

Great work this season.

I don't know.

I'm speechless. I don't have too many under my belt. So for me, it's it's it's priceless.

My family on three, guys. One, two, three.

In a real world, unfortunately we get a lot of people like, well, he, that person can't see.

What what do they know? Give him a chance. That's all I said.