Brandon Duncan hasn't swung a bat in an official game this year for the Northwood High varsity baseball team.

But the players and coaches treat him like he's the most valuable player.
 

Brandon, 18, who is in Northwood's special education program, has been a member of the varsity baseball program for four years.
 

"The guy is just an inspiration," said shortstop Tim Carrier. "Every time we come out here, we just look at him. It's crazy to see how much he's gone through and it makes us just try so much harder and realize how lucky we are.
 

"Brandon means so much to this team. He's just like one of the guys. He comes out here and keeps us all laughing."
 

"He's a genuine guy," said Coach Rob Stuart. "Not many people can truly have a lot of love in their heart like he does. He comes to school every day with such excitement and energy because he just loves his friends, and there are a lot of them at school."
 

Brandon has overcome a great deal to become a respected member of the baseball team.
 

Many say he is the most popular student at the school. He usually says hello to many people every day before winding up on the baseball field.
 

At age 3, Brandon was diagnosed with fragile X syndrome, which according to his mother, Kathi, is the most common cause of mental impairment. Fragile X syndrome, which is caused by an error on one arm of the X chromosome, makes it difficult for Brandon to sit still and to focus.
 

While his speech is not all that clear, Brandon is able to express himself, which he does often around his teammates, coaches and friends.
 

"They've done everything," Brandon said the other day when asked what his teammates meant to him.
 

"Good school," he said of Northwood.
 

"I can pitch," Brandon said of his baseball talents.
 

"I like to bowl, dude," Brandon said when asked what else he likes to do.
 

Brandon may have learning disabilities but he knows the names of many students on campus, including every player on the baseball team.
 

In fact, he has nicknames for most and he has the phone numbers of all the players programmed into his cell phone. When he's away from practice, Brandon dials up many of those numbers.
 

The players enjoy talking to him.
 

"That's a bunch of incredible kids over there," said Brandon's mother, Kathi. "He has affected their lives, but they have affected his life too. They treat him just like he's a part of the team."
 

Some of the players on the team, like pitcher Jameson Kuykendall, have known Brandon since middle school.
 

"He's definitely one of the guys, just like us. If it weren't for him, we'd all go crazy. He brings a lot of humor to the team and keeps us relaxed," said Kuykendall. "He's just a great all-around guy. He's never mad and he's always out here to have a good time, which makes us have a good time.
 

"He keeps us very relaxed in practice. We'll get all tense maybe before a game or during practice, then we'll just look at him and he'll just crack a smile."
 

Kuykendall remembers hitting Brandon with a pitch during batting practice.
 

"The funniest moment was when I drilled him in the back of the leg," Kuykendall said. "He was a little fired up about it, but it was all good fun."
 

Brandon's association with the baseball team began in his freshman year.
 

Brandon was in a ceramics class taught by Stuart, the baseball coach.
 

Someone asked Stuart if Brandon could be the team manager, a role he had with the football team.
 

"I said, 'absolutely,' " Stuart said.
 

It didn't take long for Brandon to become a player in a full uniform and taking part in practice and team meetings like any other player.
 

"He's not really a manager, he's a player who just doesn't play a lot," said Stuart.
 

But Brandon does contribute, perhaps in unconventional ways.
 

"The favorite part about him is seeing him take pre-game," said infielder Jeff Bruns. "You miss a ground ball, it's all right, you know Duncan is there.
 

"He's the favorite person on the team by far. He's just one of the greatest guys. I love him."
 

"You walk around school, and you just know when Duncan is around," said outfielder Erik Bosshart said. "You can hear him and your face just lights up."
 

Bosshart said he often picks Brandon up so that he and other players on the team can hang out, often listening to his favorite singer, Eminem.
 

"Every time I pick him up, he says, 'turn it (the music) up loud, turn it up loud.' " Bosshart said.
 

Paul Gahng, a pitcher, said he and Brandon hang out every weekend.
 

"We usually bowl together or go to the mall," Gahng said.
 

"Every time I go pick him up, he's got that big smile on his face and he's ready to go. He's calling me every 30 minutes asking if we're doing anything or hanging out. He's just full of energy. He makes my day every time I see him."
 

Pitcher Patrick Haselton got to know Brandon when he joined the football team in his sophomore year.
 

"He's always got something funny to say," Haselton said. "He's always cheering somebody up. If we're ever getting chewed out by (Coach) Stuart, he saves us. He's a lifesaver.
 

"He goes to the pep rallies and gets everyone fired up. He walks out to the middle of the floor and raises his arms up and gets the whole crowd revved up."
 

While Brandon has provided inspiration and kept the mood in the dugout light for teammates during games and practices, he has had a different effect on Stuart, the head coach.
 

"The guy means a lot to me, just based on the fact that he shows up every day, and comes out with a positive attitude, which I don't always have," Stuart said. "But he always puts me in a good mood."
 

"I'll be angry or upset or disappointed, and I'll turn around and he'll ask me if he can play. His spirit is amazing."
 

Stuart has seen growth from Brandon's freshman year to his senior year.
 

"He's steadily improved," Stuart said. "In practice, he shags balls during batting practice and he gets in the drills that he's successful at and he takes batting practice and he's in all the pep talks and the criticism and all the meetings."
 

In his freshman year, Brandon would be around for about 15 minutes, then go visit the cheerleaders or the track athletes, Stuart said.
 

"He would end up in the gym shooting baskets," Stuart said. "Each year, we've had to structure what his responsibilities to the team are.
 

"This year, he's never missed a practice. He's always here, because I think he really knows this is his senior class and he's really tight with those guys."
 

Brandon's baseball skills have also improved, Stuart said.
 

"He's just a step slow with the velocity," Stuart said. "If we have the machine throwing 85 miles an hour, we got to take it down to 65 for him.
 

"If the coaches are throwing 65 or 70, we have to take it down to 55, because we'd hate to have a pitch get away and hit him and hurt him." "But he can throw the baseball very well. Catching, if it's right at him or in close proximity, he'll get there. Fly balls, he runs after and gives it a game effort. If it gets by him, he hustles after it and he understands the basics of the game for the most part."
 

If Brandon had his way, he would be playing in games, too.
 

After the first few innings of a game, Brandon usually begins putting on a helmet in the dugout.
 

That's a reminder to Stuart to put him in.
 

"We tell him his time is coming, he (Coach Stuart) is just waiting for the right moment," Gahng said. "He's ready to go, he's always fired up."
 

"He's always right behind me, asking to hit. He says, 'can I pitch, I want to play right field,'" said Stuart.

"I wish I could say yes every time."
 

Brandon did get in Friday's Pacific Coast League game against Laguna Beach when he came on in the seventh inning as a pinch-runner. He was stranded there. Brandon then played right field but no balls were hit to him.
 

Brandon had one at bat, and singled to left field in a scrimmage against Irvine this year. He also played right field for an inning.
 

"He got a base hit and he hustled out from the dugout to right field like a champion, like Sammy Sosa," Stuart said.
 

"It was pretty thrilling," said Brandon's mother, adding that the moment made her son really feel a part of the team.
 

Stuart is hoping to get Brandon an at-bat in an official game. The Timberwolves have two more league games next week.
 

"The difficult thing is that you want to do it for the right reason at the right time," Stuart said. "But I need to respect the game but also respect Brandon. I want to put him in a meaningful spot, where it means something to him for a lifetime."
 

It would be a storybook ending for Brandon, who earlier this year was named homecoming king. He was also selected by basketball coach Tim O'Brien as an honorary member of the squad and given a jersey.
 

"He did that all on his own," said his mother, Kathi.
 

The experiences could help Brandon as he moves on to new challenges.
 

Brandon is scheduled to graduate through the special education program in June, his mother said. He will be going to the prom and grad night like other Northwood seniors.
 

Then, he will likely attend school through the Irvine Unified School District's adult transitional program at Irvine Valley College, she said.
 

Brandon also wants to have his own apartment and Kathi said she and her husband, David, will do everything they can to help him reach that goal.
 

It will be the next step for Brandon, who like other seniors on the team undoubtedly realizes life will be different without Northwood baseball.
 

"I'm going to miss them next year," he said of his teammates.
 

About 15 minutes later, Brandon was walking off the field with one of them.