While most of the story surrounding the Kansas baseball team this season has been on their red-hot start or the insane number of home runs they’ve hit so far, one element of the program that means as much as anything to third-year head coach Dan Fitzgerald took center stage on Wednesday night.
The game, a 10-7 KU victory over South Dakota State at Hoglund Ballpark that featured 2 more KU home runs, was the third annual Autism Awareness Game and it was played, appropriately, on World Autism Awareness Day.
The Jayhawks (24-6) wore special hats and uniforms that featured the puzzle-piece design that has become the symbol of autism awareness, but Fitzgerald also sought to create an environment that was more welcoming to people and kids with autism than your normal day at the ballpark.
The National Anthem and pregame public address announcements were done earlier than normal to keep the intensity of light and sound away from the early action, and all sound, from the scoreboard in right field to the PA speakers around the stadium, was cut off 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
After Wednesday’s game began, the sound and visual effects were gradually turned back up each inning until it reached full-go again midway through the game.
“One of the great parts of sport is the preparation for life,” Fitzgerald said this week while previewing the game and talking about his son, Max, the middle son of three Fitzgerald boys, who is on the autism spectrum.
“Inside of our team, we talk so much about how blessed we are, how much we’ve been given, what’s expected of us and then also our responsibility to do great things with the platforms that we’ve been given,” Fitzgerald added. “(This game is) something that’s incredibly personal to me, but then, as a head coach, it becomes personal for your program, as well.”
Asked if he thought that idea resonated with the players on his roster, only a handful of whom have been around for the entirety of Fitzgerald’s time at Kansas, the KU coach said he thinks the guys get it and understand that this type of game, or the Rare Disease game, which, in part, honors pitching coach Brandon Scott’s daughter Reese, who is one of a few children affected by CSNK2B Neurodevelopmental Disorder, is about more than just putting on funky uniforms and talking the talk.
“The guys, whether they like it or not, I think they get to experience my family, my life, my assistants’ families, their lives,” he explained. “That’s how we built this thing. It’s real and it’s transparent. We have no closed practices. At any given time, you can look up and see someone’s kid on the field, someone’s kid in the dugout.”
That includes Max, a 13-year-old baseball nut who unexpectedly became one of the stars of the show on the day Fitzgerald was introduced as the Jayhawks’ next head coach three years ago and a young man who has been known to take over a postgame presser from his dad after games, randomly and without warning.
“Having a son with autism has been the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with, and also the greatest and the most eye-opening and life-changing,” Fitzgerald said of his experience with Max, who joined him at home plate to present Wednesday's lineup card to the home plate umpire.
And he added that he talks a lot about Max during recruiting calls and with the players currently on the roster. Not about what he eats or likes or how he gets through each day. But about the ways that life with Max has impacted his perspective on what’s important.
“We certainly care about the baseball development and we’re obsessed with it and we talk about it all day,” Fitzgerald said. “But, if the impact ends there, it’s a total waste. I do think that the things that we raise awareness for become important to the guys.”
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
