Taylor Duncan

In 2016, Taylor Duncan founded Alternative Baseball as a means to provide inclusive opportunities for teens and adults with autism and other disabilities through America’s Pastime… Baseball! To promote his advocacy and expertise in training these athletes for life off the baseball diamond at an exceptionally high level, Taylor became a student at Toccoa Falls College in 2020. At Toccoa Falls College, Taylor is majoring in Nonprofit Business Administration with minors in Sports Management and Theology.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor transitioned and led Alternative Baseball from a competitive baseball league for those with disabilities to an organization promoting an emphasis on advocacy for community integration and inclusion through numerous creative outlets through a community-based version of baseball.

Duncan curated the entirety of the first full-year “Playing for Integration Tour” which featured baseball games starring athletes with disabilities, local community leaders, former professional baseball players, and local ‘celebrities’/dignitaries in communities of all sizes and backgrounds. Duncan’s promotion and curation of these events continued to attract news coverage and broke prior attendance records against events throughout Alternative Baseball’s timespan. During this transition, Duncan led the charge for the Organization to become an associated member of the World Baseball Softball Confederation; the governing body for the curation of baseball and softball at the Olympic Games.

Taylor has given his story and testimony of perseverance and determination through encouraging and empowering others at numerous conferences and events including TEDxAtlanta, Clemson University, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Collins Aerospace, University of Alabama-Huntsville, and Toastmasters International District Conferences.


HONORS:

  • Atlanta International Umpires Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Georgia House of Representatives - Commemorated, House Resolution 1420 (March 8, 2018)

  • Georgia Sports Hall of Fame - J.B. Hawkins Humanitarian Award

  • Atlanta Braves - Commemorated as a “Community Hero” during their game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 18, 2019.

  • Charter Spectrum News (North Carolina) - Showcased as an “Everyday Hero” during a news segment on Spectrum News Charlotte.

  • Toastmasters International (Toastmasters of West Georgia)

    - Competent Communicator, July 18, 2017

    - Competent Leader and Advanced Leader Bronze, April 14, 2018

    - Advanced Communicator Bronze, June 28, 2018

    - Triple Crown (for receiving 3 or more awards during a fiscal year (2018-2019, 2021-2022)

    - Elected the local club’s Vice President of Public Relations (2017-2018)

    - Spoke at over 300 Toastmasters clubs during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Grand Marshal Community Champion at the 2023 City of Dallas, Georgia Christmas Parade (sponsored by the Paulding County Rotary Club)