Deaf baseball players

There have not been many deaf baseball players over the years. Curtis Pride, Dummy Hoy, and Dummy Luther are probably the most famous deaf baseball players of all-time. Being a deaf baseball player is a very difficult thing to do because hearing is an important part of the game. Hearing is important for things like calling other players off in the field, hearing the umpires calls, and hearing the ball hit off of the bat helps players locate where the ball is. A deaf player could actually have some advantages over his hearing comrades. Deaf people can block out the crowd and can concentrate more on the game, a huge advantage when visiting opposing teams ballparks. The biggest problem a deaf baseball player probably has is the inability to hear other players in the field. The inability to hear other players when going after the ball can lead to some ugly collisions. A few years ago there was a nasty collision between Johnny Damon and Damien Jackson in the middle of the outfield which led to Damon suffering a concussion. Although neither of these players are deaf, it is an example of what can happen with a lack of communication or the inability to hear each other. This is obviously a problem with deaf baseball players.

Outfield is probably the hardest position for a deaf person to play because communication between other outfielders is critical when both players are running after the ball. Communicating verbally is how outfielders signify who is going to catch and who is going to back away. Curtis Pride is a great example of a deaf outfielder who overcame odds. Pride was born 95% deaf from rubella. Pride had underwent intense vision and speech training to improve his game to compensate for his deafness. He actually learned to articulate words very well and can talk to the other outfielders but cannot hear what they say, therefore he makes a great centerfielder because centerfielders have priority in calling people off when going after a ball. Also, to help Pride be able to judge the ball better off of the bat he went through extensive vision training to be able to just angles faster, therefore he can react faster (Whiteside, 1993).

Another great deaf baseball player was William “Dummy” Hoy. He was the first deaf person to ever play professional baseball. He was also given credit for creating the hand signals that umpires use to distinguish strikes, balls, safe, out, fair, foul, etc. Hoy contracted meningitis when he was two and lost his hearing due to it. In April of 2001, Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf, named their baseball field in honor of Dummy Hoy (William “dummy“ Hoy). Hoy started playing professional baseball at the age of 24, from 1886 to mid 1902.

Luther “Dummy” Taylor was also a deaf baseball player, however he was not as renowned as the previous two. He did not have as glamorous of a career as either Hoy or Pride. He is most known for the time he was thrown out by umpire Tim Hurst. Taylor was signing over to his dugout about the umpire and the umpire knew what he was signing because the umpire had a deaf relative. The umpire knew what he was saying and ejected both Taylor and his manager (Dummy Taylor).

Deaf baseball players obviously have a bit more of a challenge then the hearing, but it can be overcome. Today, there are teams and leagues for the deaf. Some organizations are making accommodations for hearing impaired players. Gallaudet university even has it’s own baseball team. Deaf baseball has come a long way and will continue to grow. Perhaps more baseball players can learn sign language by going to www.lifeprint.com and learn sign language to help facilitate communication to deaf baseball players, therefore attracting more of the hearing impaired to play baseball.

References

Dummy hoy homeplate. WebHostGroup.net. Dummyhoy.com. Retrieved 27 March, 2008: http://www.dummyhoy.com/

Dummy taylor. Baseballlibray.com. Retrieved 27 March, 2008: http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Dummy_Taylor_1875

Pride: perseverance speaks volumes. MLBplayers.com. Retrieved 24 March, 2008: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050526&content_id=1063447&vkey= mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp

Whiteside, K. (1993, July 12). Curtis Pride. Sports Illustrated, 79(2), 57.
Retrieved March 27, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

William “dummy” hoy. Seeing Disabilities from a Different Perspective. Retrieved 24 March, 2008: http://library.thinkquest.org/5852/deafhoy.htm