A nationwide website says there are nearly 15,000 high schools that field baseball teams comprising nearly a half-million players. But none of those athletes is quite like Point Loma High School’s Dylan Vaughn.
Dylan just finished his sophomore season on an outstanding junior varsity team that won 21 games and the league championship, losing only four times.
A pitcher, Dylan recorded an incredible 0.69 earned-run average, at one time going the equivalent of four games without allowing his opponents a single run. He walked only three batters and struck out 19 over 30 innings, numbers that would make most professional scouts salivate.
So why is Dylan’s story unique?
You see, Dylan has cerebral palsy. And this is his story.
Dylan’s life had a tragic beginning, one that would perhaps give him the strength to face the challenges he has overcome to this point in his young life.
On April 23, 1999, Kathi Vaughn gave birth to triplets. They were born three months prematurely, and two of them did not survive.
While mourning the loss of their newborns, Kathi and her husband Tom gave a name to the little survivor: Dylan Patrick Vaughn.
And a survivor he was.
“He weighed just two pounds, one ounce at birth,” Kathi recalled. “And he spent 76 days in the Intensive Care Unit for newborns.”
Finally, in mid-June, Tom and Kathi brought their precious package home for the first time. But they weren’t prepared to provide for all his needs.
“We had to take him back to the hospital for a few days,” Kathi says, “but the next time we were better prepared.”
Like any new parents, Kathi and Tom doted on their tiny package of joy. But doctors soon interrupted their happiness when they delivered a stunning diagnosis: Dylan had cerebral palsy and “he may never be able to walk.”
Though the doctors’ message was a serious blow, Kathi and Tom are optimists and decided to do what they could to disprove the medical team’s grim prognosis. This involved hundreds of physical therapy sessions over the years.
Dylan was clearly in good hands.
The story takes a five-year leap forward as Dylan reaches kindergarten age.
The child expresses interest in baseball, something that makes Tom very happy, and Dylan’s organized baseball career soon begins.
Mom and dad enroll their son in pee wee-level baseball at Point Loma Little League, and the sport known as the national pastime becomes the daily pastime for Dylan and his dad.
Tom realizes his son’s best opportunity likely would be pitching, so the two begin to play catch.
“He started off a little roughly, like most kids do when they’re that age and can’t find the strike zone,” says Tom. “But he loves to throw, and we have thrown pretty much every day since.”
Soon, those pitches began to find the strike zone and arrive with a “pop” in Tom’s glove.
“We built up his arm strength over the years,” Tom explained, “and I’ve always stressed first-pitch strikes and to throw a lot of strikes, get ahead in the count.”
There was a slight break in Dylan’s development when he had surgery on his legs at age 5, and even though he was in a wheelchair for a period, the daily throwing sessions continued.
Dylan became one of the top pitchers on his teams as he progressed through Point Loma Little League and later at Peninsula Little League, where a juniors program was offered for older players.
When you ask Dylan about his love for baseball, he doesn’t hesitate.
“I love baseball,” he says. “It gets my heart going, pumps me up, and I was just born to play baseball.”
Maintaining and improving his skills is a never-ending project as he faces ongoing physical challenges.
“I have to work every day to keep my composure, keep on working hard and lead my teammates,” he says earnestly.
Dylan, like many his age, credits his teammates for what he calls his “very competitive” nature.
“I’m in the game to win and have fun with my teammates,” whom he adds “got me to where I am today.”
When Dylan gets the call from his coaches to pitch, “I feel alive. I just want to throw strikes and help my team win.”
And as for those teammates, Dylan calls them “passionate people who help me, good buddies who help me in the field too. They get a lot of hard-hit ground balls and just throw guys out at first.”
Dylan lists his top pitches as a slider (“It’s not very fast, but it dips a lot and fools the hitters”), a sidearm fastball of about 81 miles an hour (“my best pitch, and it rises a bit”). “I call it ‘The Neesh,'” he says, throwing it in the style of former major league pitcher Pat Neshek.
Energetic young Kyle Harvey has coached at several levels in the Pointer baseball hierarchy and this year led his JV team to that impressive 21-4 record. He’s mentored scores of young players as a coach, and Dylan knows his playing time from Harvey is earned.
“From the first day of winter ball, Dylan Vaughn is a kid who has taken pride in playing the game every day,” Harvey observed. “He’s the first guy in the dugout every day, who loves the game of baseball but more than that loves his teammates. He’s there to support them, and it really helps bring the team together. He also teaches all of us a little something about ourselves.”
Mike Delgado is a veteran pitching coach who has coached with several Pointer head coaches. Delgado has a history of success helping kids throw but also in character development.
“Dylan has always been a hustler and a motivator, a kid you put into clutch situations, and he loves the pressure,” Delgado said. “The players look up to him. He’s a great leader now and will be in the future, a super-awesome kid.”
From his tiny, fragile beginning, Dylan now stands 6 feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. He carries a 3.3 grade point average in his PLHS classes. His answer when you ask about his future is swift and assured.
“My goal for next year is to make varsity,” Dylan says confidently, “and work to get to that level where I think I need to be.”
Tom agrees, saying, “I expect it to come eventually after all the work we’ve put in throwing everyday.”
While Tom and Kathi admit to being “very nervous” each time Dylan takes the mound, they are also filled with pride. They offer him unconditional love and support knowing what their son has been through to earn his current opportunity.
Life may have thrown Dylan Patrick Vaughn a curve, but he’s answered the only way he knows how – by throwing strikes.