Associated Press - April 11, 2009 1:15 AM ET

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Mark Wetzel says he started teaching baseball players the art of hitting shortly after his son Lance started playing Little League in the 1980s.

It's an interesting career choice by Wetzel, blind since 14 because of macular degeneration. His peripheral vision remains good enough for him to make out shapes and outlines.

Wetzel loved playing baseball as a child, and he wanted to help out with Lance's team, but was shooed away.

He would watch instructional videos by sitting with his nose pressed up against a TV. Within a year or two, fathers started to bring their sons to see the blind guy.

Wetzel's students come from near and far. 1 of them is Matt Macri (Muh-CREE), who grew up 130 miles away in Des Moines, Iowa. Macri played third base for the Minnesota Twins last season and started this year in AAA ball.

On the Net:

Mark Wetzel Web site: http://www.blindguyhitting.com/

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