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Hernando Today

Giving Thanks

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Carl Whitehouse

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: November 26, 2008

Former Hernando High baseball player Carl Whitehouse is in a lot of ways just like any other person.
On this day of thanks, Whitehouse has plenty to be thankful for.
He works for Hernando Pest Control. He races go-karts and plays softball in the Hernando County Recreation League in his spare time. He also plays for a national softball team that recently played in a World Series in Puerto Rico.
The one thing that sets Whitehouse apart from many other people is that he has very little use of his right arm.
Whitehouse is member of the National One-Armed Bandits, a softball team that travels around the world, including a stop in recent 2008 Handicapped World Series.
The tournament, which began playing in the mid-1990s, featured teams from the United States, Columbia, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Japan.
"We only do it once a year," Whitehouse said. "Whoever has the tournament runs it and then at the end, we draw names out of a hat to see who will host it next year.

Whitehouse: 101

Whitehouse, who has 25 percent use of his right arm, weighted 11 pounds at birth when the doctor tried to pull him from his mother's womb, tore the muscles in his spinal cord.
He has been a shortstop, first baseman and pitcher for the Bandits and this year coached the team.
The last time he played internationally with the Bandits was two years ago in Japan.
"We played in Osaka and it was kind of fun. The weird part was that I met Bronson Arroyo (pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and Brooksville resident) and Tyrone Woods (from Brooksville and member of the Chunichi Dragons) and it was something that three people from Brooksville would meet up at the same time in Japan playing baseball."
The Bandits were organized by Victor Rosario, a native of Venezuela and now the head of security at Miami-Jackson Hospital.
"He started the whole deal," Whitehouse said. "He went to Venezuela and started a team there and it's grown over the years."
While these tournaments are not sponsored by any international organizations, Whitehouse said the group hopes someday that will be different.
"I was watching the Para-Olympics recently and that's one of our goals, to be included in that in either baseball or softball," he said. "It's not easy and you really have to have the sponsors to back you, but we think eventually we'll get it in."
He also said that next year the tournament will probably be held stateside.
"We're going to try to host it at Disney World in Orlando and we'll hopefully have some more teams coming to play in it," added Whitehouse.
On the trips, Whitehouse says the group also invites anyone else who wants to make the trip.
"We invite people, whether they're softball players or not and have them hang out with us," Whitehouse said. "We also go and visit the local hospitals, sign some balls and caps and try to give them some encouragement and tell them to keep trying."

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