BCS Outlaws place in Beep Baseball World Series

 

The BCS Outlaws organized in 2014 and this is their second trip to the World Series.

Beep baseball is a baseball game modified for athletes who are blind or visually impaired.

 

Posted: Thursday, August 11, 2016 12:00 am

By Rebecca Fiedler rebecca.fiedler@theeagle.com

The BCS Outlaws — Brazos County’s beep baseball team for the visually impaired — made its second appearance in the Beep Baseball World Series in Iowa recently, competing against 19 teams that rely on nothing but a player’s sense of hearing.

The Outlaws are a relatively young team, having only been formed in 2014. The team landed in 17th place in 2015 and made a 16th place showing during the series in July.

“Being one of the youngest teams out there, we did really well,” said one of the team’s coaches, local minister Jerry House. “That means we won three games at the World Series.”

The team boasts about a dozen players who range in age from 14 to 45, nine of whom are visually impaired in some way and several who are fully blind. All players in a beep baseball game — with three exceptions — are required to wear a blindfold while playing, House explained, in order to level the playing field. The pitcher, catcher and one field spotter for each team are required to have full vision capabilities to ensure the progression of the game and assist the sightless players. Athletes hit a softball-like ball with a beeping noise device inside.

“It’s a really cool thing to watch a blind person hit a baseball,” House said.

Several members of the Bryan-College Station blind community, in conjunction with the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living, gathered the resources necessary to form a team with the National Beep Baseball Association two years ago. The Outlaws are one of seven official beep baseball teams in Texas.

Some players are former high school or college athletes, while others are beginners, House said. Those on the team who are 100 percent blind, he noted, are actually the ones who perform best at the sport, as they have honed their sensory skills.

“One of the challenges of beep baseball is just being able to use your ears alone to find the beeping ball,” House said, “and getting past worrying about running into somebody; just trusting your instincts.”

The pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in College Station began assistant coaching the team because his own daughter, a student at Texas A&M, lost much of her vision as a teenager. She played high school volleyball and soccer as well as ran track, but could no longer participate once her vision faded. He said when his daughter learned about the league, she was excited to have a chance to participate in athletics again.

“Coaching this team isn’t any different than coaching a regular team,” said House, who played baseball when he was growing up. “It’s all about motivating people. We all have barriers. You just need to learn how to trust your body.”

One challenge beep baseball teams face — besides hitting and catching a fast-moving ball while blindfolded — is financing.

“A beep baseball is about $35,” House said. “We go through about 30 balls a season. It gets expensive.”

The Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living is the sole title sponsor for the Outlaws, though the team is hoping to expand its reach and grow.

“We’re hoping to try and host a tournament in Bryan-College Station next spring,” House said.

The Outlaws typically begin practicing for the World Series in March. To learn more about beep baseball or for information on how to support or become a part of the Outlaws, visit www.bcsoutlaws.com.

 

 

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