That's a big task, considering the school on Capitol Hill has had two winning seasons since World War II;

I bet they could still beat the Nats.

My brother went to a deaf high school in California and played football and baseball. They had 13 guys on the football team, went 4-5 or something like that, and were declared Deaf National Champions. They deserved it, too, as they were playing against high schools with real, actual sports programs that could have JV teams and, you know, bench warmers.

What kind of adjustments do deaf players need to make for baseball, if any? I'm struggling to think of a reason why you need hearing capability to play baseball.

Interesting that Pride didn't know sign language until being hired. I wonder what percentage of the deaf community doesn't know ASL.

What kind of adjustments do deaf players need to make for baseball, if any? I'm struggling to think of a reason why you need hearing capability to play baseball.

Calling for a fly ball is the only thing I can think of and that you can easily replace with arm signals.

My brother went to a deaf high school in California and played football and baseball. They had 13 guys on the football team, went 4-5 or something like that, and were declared Deaf National Champions. They deserved it, too, as they were playing against high schools with real, actual sports programs that could have JV teams and, you know, bench warmers.

I covered a football game involving Indiana Deaf school. My favorite part was when the cheerleaders from the opposing school had to fit the school's name into one of their standard cheers, thus treating us to repeated cries of "Beat the Deaf."

Well, that and the big-ass drum on the line of scrimmage.

What kind of adjustments do deaf players need to make for baseball, if any? I'm struggling to think of a reason why you need hearing capability to play baseball.

There are probably a million tiny aural cues that help all players. The sound of the ball off the bat is the most obvious.

Calling for a fly ball is the only thing I can think of and that you can easily replace with arm signals.

Do umpires change how they call balls and strikes? Does the hitter have to look back after every pitch?

Do umpires change how they call balls and strikes? Does the hitter have to look back after every pitch?

I played LL with my brother. He just looked back.

So last fall Gabel left New York to re-enroll at Gallaudet, majoring in deaf studies and history. This spring, he is a 30-year-old junior left-handed pitcher. Playing for Pride, if you will.

"Deaf studies" must be Gallaudet's equivalent of "General studies". They should recruit Bryce Harper and have him major in deaf studies.

Curt went to my HS 6 years ahead of me. He came back prior to spring training every year to work out with the baseball team during the period when my coach was prohibited from instructing the team- the time before official practices could start. He used to dial up the JUGS machine to the max and it was awesome to see.

He read lips and spoke. He told me that he was only 95% deaf. Obviously he could only understand you if he was facing you and within a reasonable distance. The most interesting thing was, that despite the fact that he was playing minor league baseball at the time, he had just graduated from WIlliam and Mary where he played basketball on scholarship. But, his best sport was soccer. He was on the under 18 US National team. Had there been professional soccer in the US at the time he probably would have turned pro out of HS. But, reading lips in Europe with speakers of multiple languages didn't make much sense.

When he was first in the big leagues he was rejected by the deaf community because he spoke and didn't use ASL. I find it funny that the article calls him a deaf hero given that initial rejection.

He's a really great guy.

The article mentions the 5 minute ovation he got after his first MLB hit, in Montreal, and make it sound as if it was because of his story. It was in this game. Nice story, but the big comeback against your opponent in a pennant chase is the most likely reason. 45,000+ at the Big 0...

Pride said that he felt the ovation through the ground.