Exceptional Vision

In 1995 New Britain joined the Minnesota Twins' farm system and changed its name to the Hardware City Rock Cats, in honor of New Britain's reputation as the toolmaking capital of the country. This season the Rock Cats moved into a sparkling new stadium, though they still have a losing record. Wardlow, meanwhile, has built up a following throughout the 10 Eastern League cities.

"Don is an inspiration wherever we go," says Sean Gavaghan, a Rock Cats relief pitcher. "When we're on the road he and Gizmo always attract a crowd."

When the team travels, Lucas takes Wardlow on a practice run through the hotel so Wardlow knows how to lead Gizmo outside when nature calls. On one visit to Binghamton, N.Y., however, Lucas went to sleep before showing Wardlow around. "Gizmo had to go, so Don went down to the lobby on his own," recalls Lucas. Bui instead of going outside, Wardlow made a wrong turn and wound up in the middle of a wedding reception in the hotel's ballroom. "After I figured out where I was, I asked the bride for a dance," says Wardlow.

In each preseason Lucas spends hours dictating statistics and personal information about every player in the league into a tape recorder. Wardlow then translates all of the material onto Braille paper that he can refer to while broadcasting. Before each game Lucas records updated statistics for the two teams, and Wardlow spends about three hours organizing the material. "Their work ethic is second to none," says Portland's Young. "Don may be the best-prepared color commentator in baseball."

During the seventh-inning stretch of today's game against the Sea Dogs, Wardlow leans out of the press-box window holding the public-address announcer's microphone and asks the fans to join him in singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The crowd reacts with gusto. "Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined all of this," says Lucas. "I'll sometimes look over at Don during a game, and he'll have his back to home plate, announcing into a blank wall, and I'll crack up on the air. Here's a guy born without eyes announcing a baseball game on the radio, and I'm there beside him! Someday we hope to be doing it full time in the major leagues."

It is the stuff fairy tales are made of. And his fairy tale, says Wardlow, "is still coming true. I just may be the luckiest blind man on earth."