Photos: Blind baseball helps players cope with challenges
September 17, 2013
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, practices batting during a blind baseball workout in Atlanta on July 13, 2013. "Right now, I just try to take it day by day, one step at a time. BEEP baseball is helping me out. It takes away from me thinking about I'm less than a man, Now I realize I'm still the same man, just have to do things differently now," he says. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, reaches for the ball which beeps during a blind baseball workout in Atlanta on April 6, 2013. Players use their sense of sound to make up for their lack of sight. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Sam Hogle, center, joins teammates in stretching under the instruction of manager Judy Byrd, background center, during blind baseball practice in Atlanta on Sept. 22, 2012. In the game of blind baseball, players use their sense of sound to make up for their lack of sight. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity; It helps them cope with the challenges of being blind. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Sam Hogle listens to the beep of the ball as he fields a hit by a player during a blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Shirley Ann Jordan, right, hugs her son Jimmie Burnette, left, after watching him play blind baseball for the first time since he lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. "That's the first time son. There's a first time for everything. You did good. Excellent! I'm proud of you. Very proud." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Roger Keeney, who took up blind baseball after losing his sight, pulls groceries from the refrigerator to prepare dinner for his family at his home in Athens, Ga. on April 9, 2012. "Blind folks can do nearly any job that you can do except for maybe drive down the road. It is hard for employers to believe that we can do the job. On paper, I'm number one or number two every time I apply for anything. But as soon as I walk through the door of the the office to the interviewer with my white stick, you can feel the mood in the room change. You can physically feel the change. And the attitude is prevalent that this person can't do the job they've applied for and so I don't get it." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Chico Owens listens for the buzz of the base as he adjusts to running in total darkness during a blind baseball practice in Atlanta on Sept. 22, 2012. Also called BEEP baseball, it's played with a ball that beeps and bases that buzz. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Dee Butler, who began to lose her vision early in life, pauses in between stretches on the field before a blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. "When I got to the baseball, I didn't even think I could do it. I've never even been athletic even as a child. I was always like a girly girl. I had to prove to myself first that I could because I was always told by him that I couldn't do anything without him," she says talking about her ex-husband. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Roger Keeney prepares to hit a ball during a blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. "When they get up there and once they've connected with it once, for most of them, they're hooked. It's a rush you will never forget. Do the impossible and then nothing is impossible," he says. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who took up blind baseball after losing his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, stands in his home in Atlanta on May 27, 2012. "I wanted to give up, when I first got home, I felt real alone. I couldn't see anything. My initial reaction was run away. I didn't want to be a burden on anybody." In the game of blind baseball, players use their sense of sound to make up for their lack of sight. Also called BEEP baseball, it's played with a ball that beeps and bases that buzz. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity. Faced with their own personal challenges in their daily lives, hitting and catching a ball and running full speed in total darkness teaches them they can achieve what was once thought unachievable. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Shirley Ann Jordan, right, watches her son Jimmie Burnette, left, play blind baseball for the first time since he lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. "I was brought up with the attitude of a man doesn't work he doesn't eat. A man provides for his family and his home. I kept saying to myself you're not a man anymore, you're not a man anymore. Now I realize I'm still the same man, just have to do things differently now," says Burnette. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
A pitcher holds up the the ball which beeps before throwing to a batter in blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. Players use their sense of sound to make up for their lack of sight. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Dee Butler, who began to lose her vision early in life, sits on the team bus on the way home from a blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. "I have an ex-husband I call my 'wasband'. He used to make me feel so down. I was ugly, I was fat, I couldn't do anything. I heard it so often, I started believing it. One day I was just laying in the bed and I was like so depressed and I said why am I so depressed? Why does he make me feel this way? And then I just started getting mad. And so I looked at him right in the eye and I told him I'm going to prove you wrong." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, listens for the beep of the ball during a blind baseball practice in Atlanta on July 13, 2013. Faced with their own personal challenges in their daily lives, hitting and catching a ball and running full speed in total darkness teaches them they can achieve what was once thought unachievable. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, rides the subway while practicing taking public transportation by himself in Atlanta on June 20, 2012. "At times, it's almost like total dark, it's gloomy. But I have to find things to lighten up my darkness." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Scean Atkinson, right, is helped with his position over the batters box with help from teammate Ben Poplin, during a blind baseball game in Albany, Ga. on May 5, 2012. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity. Faced with their own personal challenges in their daily lives, hitting and catching a ball and running full speed in total darkness teaches them they can achieve what was thought unachievable. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Joseph Weaver, checks on his seeing eye dog, Moose, after a blind baseball practice in Atlanta on April 14, 2012. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity. Faced with their own personal challenges in their daily lives, hitting and catching a ball and running full speed in total darkness teaches them they can achieve what was once thought unachievable. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Richard Sexton feels around for the bat during a blind baseball batting practice in Atlanta on April 14, 2012. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, left, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, reaches out to find teammate Richard Sexton to run through a drill in blind baseball practice in Atlanta on Sept. 22, 2012. "Right now, I just try to take it day by day, one step at a time. BEEP baseball is helping me out. It takes away from me thinking about I'm less than a man," says Jimmie Burnette. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, gets into the passenger side of the car as his wife drives him to a doctor's appointment from their home in Atlanta on May 27, 2012. "It is a big transition learning to see things differently, getting over being independent and being dependent on someone. It's a big change." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Garrick Scott takes a rest during a blind baseball practice in Atlanta on July 13, 2013. For the players, the game is about much more than physical activity. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Richard Sexton, left, is guided by John Steven to the batter's box during a blind baseball practice in Atlanta on April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, reaches the base after following its buzzing sound during a blind baseball workout in Atlanta. "My biggest achievement is I ran, I hit a ball and ran. And I look back at it and say 'wow, I really did that.' And if I can run to a base, it doesn't mean I won't give up!" he says. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Tiawanna Burnette, center, stands in the living room with her husband, Jimmie Burnette, who lost his vision to a brain tumor in 2010, at their home in Atlanta on May 27, 2012. "I was seeing how my visual impairment changed my wife. It made her have to pick up the slack and do things. I never wanted my wife to work hard or take on a task that's something that I'm supposed to be doing." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Scean Atkinson, works out with a heavy bag in the backyard of his home in preparation for an upcoming blind baseball game, in Conyers, Ga. on April 26, 2012. "I'm thinking about all the people that told me I couldn't do certain things. I'm showing them just because we have a condition, doesn't mean we can't play a competitive game." (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Dee Butler, left, and Sam Hogle, take a moment to rest during blind baseball practice in Atlanta on Sept. 22, 2012. "I love getting out there and hitting that ball and making them runs. I just found the inner strength that I didn't think I ever had. Just to find an inner person that was never there before was exciting," says Butler. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ( Blind Baseball )
Categories: News, Syndicated, U.S. National
Tags: photo