MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joy is what you see, feel and think when you catch a glimpse of John T Farley.
His dance moves exude it, the way he takes pride in being the bat boy for Memphis baseball, personifies it and his ability to get the team laughing, embodies it.
“If somebody is having a bad day you go see John T for five minutes and then it just completely changes your outlook on everything," Memphis pitcher Logan Rushing said.
John T was born with down syndrome and seeing him embraced by others is something his parents Jerry and Brenda Farley didn't know if they'd get to see their son experience.
“The hardest part for me is you know when you have a new, newborn and you walk down the hall to the glass where all the babies are on one side or the other and you walk down and see all the joy and you know something’s not right with yours," Jerry said. "We had no idea, we were scared, you know you just don’t know what to expect.”
According to the CDC as of 2023 about 5,700 babies in the United States are born with down syndrome every year.
“We get caught up in the wins and losses a lot, we get caught up in the hours we put into it and when John T comes out he puts a smile on everyone's face and reminds you why we’re really playing it, for the fun of it," Memphis baseball head coach Matt Riser said.
Brenda and Jerry have spent every moment since John T was born making sure he’s involved and embraced.
"She gave up her career to fight for his benefits and his inclusion and everything he did," Jerry said.
John T graduated from the Tiger Life Program at the University of Memphis, he is a star ballroom dancer and works as a teaching assistant at Farmington Elementary but his greatest honor, is being the Memphis Tigers bat boy, or as Jerry likes to say, bat man.
John T first got involved with Memphis Athletics in 2003 when Jerry heard then head football coach Tommy West advertising on the radio for a tee boy.
"I thought, well John T might be good at that," Jerry said.
John T got the job and actually became the coach of the tee boys, even traveling with the team to the New Orleans Bowl.
In 2009, West was fired which saw John T's run with the football team come to an end but that wasn't the end of his involvement with the Tigers. In 2014, John T joined the baseball team.
"I don’t think we ever questioned what we were doing and if it was right or wrong," Director of baseball operations Al Woods said. "We experimented a bit on what all we could find him to do and what he’d be good at and felt like being the, as we call him now, the bat specialist would be good.”
John T, or Tizzle as the lads have affectionately nicknamed him, is on tap at each home game to grab the guys bats after their at bat, collect foul balls from behind home plate and give the umpire new balls.
"I'm a star player," John T said.
John T has been shining bright with the Tigers for 10 years, becoming an integral part of the team’s identity and one that first year head coach Matt Riser couldn’t part ways with.
"The personality that he has and the outgoingness that he has, I just really enjoyed having him around," Riser said. "I was like yeah, Al, this is a no-brainer, we’ve got to keep this guy around and maybe make him a more active member.”
When John T gives the pregame pep talk, stands with the team for the national anthem and sits at the ready, watching the tigers from the best seat in the house, Jerry and Brenda beam with pride from the stands.
"I think it sends a message that they can do more than a lot of people think they can and I think he’s a good example of that," Jerry said. "It’s just heartwarming to see him do the things that I used to do and know that he can do it.”
The Farley's will always be thankful for Tiger baseball but the team is just as thankful to have John T with them for every home game.
Later this year, as they do every year, the team will join John T and his family for the Step Up for Down Syndrome walk here in Memphis.