'It brought me alive': Beep baseball offers a whole new ballgame to the blind, visually impaired

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Bats, ground balls, bases, and beeping.

"It's an amazing sport and an amazing game for everybody - regardless of when you lost your vision," Deer Park's Blake Boudreaux told ABC13.

Beep baseball is an adapted version of America's pastime. A run is scored when a blind or visually impaired hitter reaches the buzzing base before one of the six defensive players can corral the beeping ball off the bat.

"When I finally got into it, it brought me alive," Houston Hurricanes player John Marquez said. "Sports is what did it. I play beep ball now for the Houston team."

Marquez lives in Fort Worth but plays for the Hurricanes in Houston - a squad formed just two years ago. The geography might not make sense, but that's all part of Boudreaux's game plan.

"We wanted to bring more of an opportunity to the city of Houston and the surrounding parts of Texas for youth and children who may have vision loss to be able to compete," Boudreaux, who was diagnosed with eye cancer shortly after his first birthday, revealed.

Boudreaux, who recently finished serving a five-year term as president of the National Beep Baseball Association, has been involved with beep baseball for three decades. This week, he and the Hurricanes will head to Oklahoma to take part in the National Beep Baseball Association World Series.

"We're going to have 19 teams from around the United States, and we're very excited to be representing the city of Houston and hopefully bringing back a championship."

While the sport is certainly competitive, there will be only one World Series champion. And regardless of the final score, these men and women being able to play this game is a win - because it's an opportunity some may have considered lost.

"Someone who has lost their vision later in life, who has played sports in the past, they don't have that competitive outlet to really go out there and be part of a team," Boudreaux noted. "They find beep baseball, and it gives them that outlet and really changes their confidence."

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"I tried to fight it - I tried not to be blind," Marquez, who lost his vision 14 years ago following a gunshot incident, shared. "It's not who I am. It's just a piece of who I am. Beep baseball really brought me out of my shell. Because of it, I play multiple sports now. I actually play blind soccer as well for the national team."

Some think of Beep baseball as a game with rules that have been changed. For many players, their lives have been changed.

To learn more about beep baseball, the Houston Hurricanes, or to get involved, visit the team's website.

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