GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A young man from Georgia has created a baseball league of his own, and he's bringing it to Grand Rapids.
Around this time in 2020, Taylor Duncan was working on finding a coach for an Alternative Baseball team in West Michigan. Now, he's finally found the coach and all he needs is the players to fill out the roster.
Duncan created Alternative Baseball because of his own experiences. He was diagnosed with autism at age 4.
"Even as I powered through those obstacles, I still faced a lot of negative perceptions of what people with autism can and can not accomplish," he says.
The league welcomes anyone over 15 with special needs to learn the game of baseball. But Duncan says it's about more than the sport. It teaches social and physical skills that translate to every day life.
"We want to be able to have that door open to be able to have those individuals from the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo area to participate in an accepting experience," explains Duncan.
And the league encourages its players to be confident in themselves.
"They're not really encouraged to because all they heard for years was no," he says.
With the new league in Grand Rapids, Duncan says he hopes to give a chance for these players to live their dreams of joining the major leagues.
"We can play just like all them, we just need the support to get to where we want to go," says Duncan.
To sign up for the league, click here. Alternative Baseball is also looking for volunteers to help out as well.
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