13-year-old with disability stuns audience while singing National Anthem at Minor League Baseball game

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) – In front of coaches, players and adoring fans, 13-year-old Sawyer McCarthy’s rendition of the national anthem brought the audience to tears at a Minor League Baseball game in South Carolina.

A video of Sawyer singing the Star-Spangled Banner at the Columbia Fireflies on April 28 quickly went viral, gathering over 5.5 million views on Facebook.

Sawyer’s mom Brianna McCarthy couldn’t be prouder of her son, whose video reached people all over the world.

“There were people from South Africa, Australia, Germany. There were people from New Zealand and Canada. A lot of Canadians actually commented and said wonderful things. What I think is beautiful about it is that it’s America’s National Anthem. But Sawyer’s voice has had the ability to not just unite America, but nations. That’s so unique and that is Sawyer,” McCarthy said.

John Oliver, the promotions and fan engagement manager with the Columbia Fireflies, said Sawyer sang “God Bless America” for the Fireflies last year on the Fourth of July, and they were eager to have Sawyer back at the ballpark to sing again.

“You saw the video; you heard the voice. We just had to have him out here in front of our fans. Honestly, I’m just glad that people are able to see the gift that Sawyer has and that he’s able to put those smiles on peoples’ faces,” Oliver said.

Sawyer is a natural-born talent, who has never had a voice lesson before in his life. His parents say it’s a “gift from the Lord.”

However, his young life has not been without hardships. When Sawyer was just 3 months old, his parents noticed he wasn’t squinting when his mom was walking with him outside in the stroller. It was an unexpected moment that changed their lives forever.

“When we went to the doctor, they did an MRI of his brain and they told us he was missing the middle of his brain, the midline structure. After we did the scan, they took us to an ophthalmologist and they told us he has Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. With that comes blindness, sometimes learning disabilities, cognitive disability, and loss of gross motor functions. But Sawyer is just your typical 13-year-old. He does have some issues in those areas, but really just his personality outshines all of it,” his mom said.

Despite his disability, when he was 3 years old, Sawyer’s parents noticed he had an amazing ear for music.

“He has the ability to listen to something and harmonize beautifully with it. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s blind and his hearing senses are heightened. He picks up on things and learns them very quickly,” said Patrick McCarthy, Sawyer’s dad.

His love for singing has only grown. Sawyer doesn’t complicate things; he simply sings to bring people joy.

“I love singing for people, and what can I say? Inspiring others maybe, yeah to inspire others, and to make people smile,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer has differences and challenges that many others do not experience. At the end of the day, he’s just a normal, fun-loving teen with dreams of singing, maybe even on “America’s Got Talent,” despite his nerves about what Simon Cowell might say.

“I’m more worried about Simon because he’s going to be like, ‘Oh Sawyer, I don’t think I really enjoyed that,’ because Simon likes to insult a lot,” Sawyer said.

He’s humble and soft-spoken, but when Sawyer sings it resonates even deeper than words.

“He may have trouble communicating like a normal conversation, but I think that when he sings, that’s how he communicates,” his mom said.

No matter where he sings, whether it’s church, school, around the house with his family, or at a ballpark, his voice travels further than he could ever imagine.

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