Kids with autism find the Baseball Buddies at Sunny Isles Beach park

Nine-plus years ago, Carla Cody experienced the unparalleled joy of the birth of her son, Garth. Since then, however, she’s often been devastated as she’s seen how Garth — who has autism — has been shunned, ignored or worse.

“I’ve lost friends who wouldn’t invite Garth to their kids’ parties,” Cody said. “I took Garth to a pee-wee basketball league, and the kids didn’t want anything to do with him. He was being ostracized and rejected, and the coaches acted like they didn’t know what to do.”

Cody withdrew her son from the league. Her first reaction was to keep Garth at home, but she knew isolation wasn’t what he needed.

Determined to find a fit, she searched the internet until she found “Baseball Buddies,” a program run by the North Miami Beach Little League.

Cody was skeptical at first, utterly protective of her son. But that feeling disappeared almost immediately upon arrival at Pelican Park in Sunny Isles Beach.

Garth, who was 6 at the time, could not contain his enthusiasm once he met Jared Weingard, a former NMB Little League player — his designated “baseball buddy.”

Weingard, who was 14 at the time, taught Garth baseball from scratch, and Jared had a willing — although rambunctious — student.

“Garth was literally running circles around Jared,” Cody said. “Garth had all this balled-up energy, and he was thrilled that this kid (Jared) was paying attention to him.

“I called my mom in tears. I said, ‘Mom, we’ve found our people.’ It was heaven on earth for a mom.”

Jared, who is now a 17-year-old senior at Krop High School and the chairman of the Baseball Buddies program, said Garth couldn’t throw the ball even five feet when he first met the boy.

Garth couldn’t hit the ball, either, not even off a tee.

Now, Garth can throw a ball from shortstop to first base — a distance of about 100 feet — with accuracy. He can also hit his pitches, with the ball often sailing all the way to second base.

“I think I’m going to need an agent,” Cody joked.

Jared said he built a great rapport with Garth.

“Patience is the most important attribute for volunteers,” said Jared, who wants to study finance in college before going to law school.

“At first, we put the ball on a tee for them to hit. But once they get that, we start soft-tossing them the ball.”

How it works

The Baseball Buddies program, which is free to join, is open to anyone with developmental or physical challenges. The age limit is 18, but no one is turned away. This is a league run by kids and for kids, with the sessions happening every Sunday morning at Pelican Park from September through mid-November.

Sessions consist of stretching, running the bases, throwing and hitting. The workouts always conclude with a game.

Each player and volunteer gets a cap and shirt representing a Major League Baseball team, which this year features the New York Yankees and World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Three former NMB Little League players — Cole Bianco, Sammy Goldfarb and Noah Blum — started the program in 2009.

Bianco, who is now studying finance at the University of Pennsylvania, said the idea to start the league came about because he needed to do a project for his bar mitzvah.

His mother, Ronni, suggested her son do something with special education, and Baseball Buddies started to take shape.

The city of Sunny Isles Beach donated the use of Pelican Park, the NMB Little League allowed for the use of their equipment, and fliers were made to recruit players and volunteers.

“It’s great because it gives these kids a chance to have fun,” said Bianco, 21, who contacted his friends Blum and Goldfarb to serve as co-founders. “It gives their parents a chance to watch their children play sports.”

Getting bigger

There were about 15 players and 20 volunteers who showed up for Baseball Buddies last year. This year, after an effort by Weingard to grow the numbers, there are about 25 players — including six or seven girls — and 30 volunteers of both genders.

The focus is on fun — there are no outs in Baseball Buddies — and if the kids are not responding to baseball, there’s a playground on site as well.

According to Cody, Baseball Buddies has struck the perfect chord with Garth.

“I needed him to be around children where it wasn’t about his disability,” Cody said. “Sports has always been a unifier, and his confidence has skyrocketed because of baseball.

“He’s speaking now — not to where he should be, but it’s still a miracle — and I know Baseball Buddies is the highlight of his week.”

Information

• What: North Miami Beach Little League Baseball Buddies program
  
  
• Where: Pelican Park, 18115 North Bay Rd., Sunny Isles Beach
  
  
• When: Sundays, through mid-November, roughly 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  
  
• Contact: Potential volunteers can email nmbbuddyball@gmail.com; potential players can contact nmbbaseballbuddies@gmail.com.
  
  

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 7:29 PM.