Handling Curveballs: Dougie Bedinger takes autism to the mound
A heart condition requiring life-saving surgeries resulted in doctors telling his parents he couldn't play sports. Autism helped him defeat the odds to become an all-star player.
Baseball has been the setting for some of the greatest stories ever told, fact and fiction. Think: Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, the movies Field of Dreams or A League of Their Own. So captivating, even non-fans can tell you the significance of baseball’s #42 or complete the line, “There’s no crying....”
Dougie Bedinger’s story could rank among them. In part because, it’s a miracle he even has one.
His starts, as all the greats do, with a generational love for the sport, in the Midwest. Parents, Mary and Doug, grew up on hallowed baseball fields in the shadows of stories like Eight Men Out and the Rockford Peaches, where they played on teams coached by their fathers, came of age with teammates they knew since t-ball, and spent all their free time in summers playing ball in their neighborhood until it got dark.
Mary went on to become an All-American at Lewis University (IL). Doug was drafted at 19 out of junior college in Florida and signed by the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher, later playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sioux City Explorers, and Schaumburg Flyers. The two fell in love on the baseball diamond, while giving lessons at the same training facility in their hometown. They married, and after Doug’s professional career was over, opened their own facility, Bedinger’s Bullpen, about 35 miles south of Chicago. Daughter Bailee came along followed by son Dougie two years later.
While both kids had baseball in their DNA, Dougie was also born with a heart condition which required emergency surgery to keep him alive. It was later determined to be the result of 22q (formally, 22q11.2a Deletion Syndrome), a genetic disorder caused when a small part of chromosome 22 is missing. In total, he endured three life-saving surgeries over the first 67 days of his life. He was sent home with a laundry list of medical conditions that typically accompany his diagnosis, including autoimmune disorders, speech delays, learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism, among others.
The doctors also threw them a curveball: Dougie couldn't play sports.
Instead, his life would consist of multiple monthly visits to the cardiologist, immunologist and a host of other specialists. For his first few years, he was routinely monitored and found to be behind on most developmental milestones. Early intervention services began when he was one year old and included occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech.
It came as no surprise to his parents when Dougie received his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in second grade. Mary, a special education teacher, was especially in tune with the fact that he was not making strides academically. She also noticed he was different socially. So she didn’t have to ask twice for an evaluation or get a second opinion once she had the results. Mom and dad were just happy for confirmation of ASD to better help their son going forward.
It also caused them to pause and realize, autism played a role in doctors reversing course on sidelining Dougie from sports.
Not that Doug and Mary strictly followed that rule. Dougie wouldn't let them. By the time he learned to walk, he was displaying amazing hand-eye coordination and a love for all his parents' baseball and softballs – and anything else he could throw.
“I can’t tell you how many times we were outside when he was just two years old, playing catch,” Mary said. “Then, inside, anything in the house was fair game to him to toss around.”
Mom and dad, both salt of the earth, didn’t credit their own athletic prowess for Dougie's uncanny ability. They just watched in awe first as ballplayers, then as happy parents thrilled to have a catch with their son, who wasn't supposed to be able to do this, developmentally or per doctor's orders.
With their new diagnosis in hand now though, Mary realized: Playing catch was one of Dougie’s first stims and focused interests – two characteristics of autism. He threw a ball all day and night. He did it at his grandmas’ houses too, where he would often go while Doug and Mary were at work. If it could be thrown, Dougie was picking it up and wanting to have a catch. It was calming for him; it gave him focus.
“He was around the facility where we teach and he was very interested in watching the bigger kids,” said dad, Doug. “So I think that is where it started. He would watch them and then copy their movements.”
Soon, he started putting a bat on a ball with ease, too. So mom and dad went back to the doctors, explained what was going on and got the all clear – with instructions that he still needed to keep up with his check-ups, especially his cardiology appointments, which he still complies with to this day. They enrolled Dougie in Little League, able to bypass t-ball and go straight to kid pitch at age seven due to his ability.
Dad helped coach and eventually developed him into a starting pitcher and alternate first baseman. Physically, the game came easy to Dougie. Sometimes he even grasped skills faster than other kids. He thrived off of the game’s repetitive movements – a common strength that accompanies autism.
“Still today, if he’s not actually throwing a ball, he’s doing the movement,” said Mary, adding, “Learning new pitches, mastering fundamentals and making physical adjustments with his mechanics on pitching and hitting come very easy to him.”
Great parenting surely helped, too, including Mary’s job in special education. As for dad?
“We already had to teach him how to brush his teeth, go to the bathroom, get his clothes on, tie his shoes,” he said, making it sound easy. “I had become really good with Dougie at taking high level information and breaking it down and communicating it to him. So I did the same with pitches.”
But the biggest thing that has helped Dougie become successful, his parents say, was owning the fact that he has autism and sharing what he needs with those who support him. For instance, when Dougie is playing first base, he will need several reminders from coaches in between each pitch about what to do. He also sometimes still needs help with tying his shoes and making sure his uniform is on right. A few teammates now routinely check in to make sure he’s all set. And everyone forgives him for watching baseball videos over and over again, to study pitches and plays.
"If we did not embrace the fact that he learns differently or his brain works differently compared to others, then he would not have made any progress,” said Mary. “We were never in denial or scared of his disability. I’m not sure if that was because I was special education teacher and had lots of experience, or the fact that he’s our son, he is who he is, and we love everything about him.”
The latter was definitely why it was important for Doug and Mary to get Dougie a Wilson A2000 Love the Moment® pitching glove, part of the sporting good company’s “Play for the Cause” initiative with Autism Speaks. Both he and they wanted him to embrace his autism, right on his arm, along with the crosses he always wears in honor of his late grandfathers, and his eye black.
It’s also why when Dougie then asked for the first baseman’s version and they couldn’t find one, Mary reached out to Wilson with a handwritten note to ask if they could add one to their glove offerings. It landed on the desk of Jim Hackett, Wilson's President and General Manager of Baseball.
“I find it very inspiring to know that this young man is out there beating the odds in so many ways and playing baseball at a high level for his age,” said Hackett. “Wilson believes in the power of sport to change lives and Dougie embodies that.”
“I knew then Wilson was not just about sports...They were in the business of caring, about autism and making sure those with autism are valued and included.”
Wilson invited Dougie, his parents and his sister, Bailee, an all-star ball player herself and Dougie’s biggest fan (she quit playing so she could attend all his games), to their headquarters so he could custom design his own first baseman’s glove.
"You never know with these things, if the company is working with a charity just to help with their image or their sales,” said Mary. “But then I received a phone call from Jim Hackett over the weekend, on his personal time, and he took a genuine interest in Dougie. I knew then Wilson was not just about sports or in this for the money. They were in the business of caring, about autism and making sure those with autism are valued and included.”
Today, Dougie plays 15U AAA travel ball for Rhino Baseball club (Shorewood, IL) – the highest level of competition there is for him.
His favorite pitch? The curveball, of course.
Recently though, he clocked a 77mph fastball, a velocity which puts him at an elite level for someone his age. This Spring he’ll be putting his heat, and his Wilson gloves, to the test for Coal City High School where he started as a freshman this past Fall. He’s also working on his slider. He is expecting it to be a process – one he looks forward to tackling under his dad’s guidance.
For his next chapter, he wants to get drafted by Major League Baseball. That would certainly help make for another great Hollywood blockbuster. Dougie and his family would be just as happy if he becomes the first MLB pitcher with autism. No matter how his story ends though, count on Dougie defying expectations, proudly representing the autism community – being the one to throw the curves.
Watch now and read more:
- Wilson has partnered with Autism Speaks to offer a limited edition “Love the Moment™” collection of Wilson® and Louisville Slugger® baseball products, to raise awareness of autism and funds to support Autism Speaks resources and programs.
