When a widower named
Donnie Mancuso is having problems communicating with his son,
Cameron, the angels arrive to help them learn from the least likely
of souls, an autistic man by the name of Ferdie. Misunderstood all
of his life, Ferdie lives in a shack on the edge of a baseball field
in Cicero, Illinois. Although harmless, the townspeople are unaware
of his autism and think of Ferdie merely as “weird.” Cameron
befriends Ferdie, who shares his love of trains. Donnie, a former
professional ball player, pushes Cameron to work harder at baseball
as a way of making friends. Cameron falls prey to peer pressure and
participates in a prank that inadvertently results in the burning of
Ferdie’s shack. Monica appeals to Cameron’s conscience, and he
convinces his father to let Ferdie live with them until his shack
can be rebuilt. While living with Donnie and Cameron, Ferdie
behaves strangely but Donnie pays little attention because he seems
harmless. Donnie finds Ferdie in the basement using his deceased
wife’s train set and forbids him to do so again. The meaning of
this is lost on Ferdie, who cannot recognize Donnie when he’s not
wearing glasses, nor Cameron when he’s not wearing his ball cap.
Ferdie, being Autistic, latches on to certain aspects of people’s
appearance in order to recognize them. The day of the championship
game Ferdie gets upset when Cameron takes his cap off, and tries to
forcibly replace it, unintentionally hurting another player. The
confused and angry townspeople drive Ferdie off the field, but
Cameron finally realizes Ferdie’s unique method of viewing the
world. The championship game continues until Cameron, who is
preoccupied with Ferdie, strikes out, losing the game. Donnie
blames Cameron for letting the team down and Cameron leaves to find
Ferdie, the only friend he connects with. When Donnie and the other
townspeople catch up to Cameron at a train yard, he tries to
explain, with Andrew’s help, how Ferdie views the world but Donnie
refuses to listen. Cameron says he would rather live in a train car
with Ferdie than with his father. Monica consoles Ferdie in the
train car while Tess reveals herself to Donnie who, ashamed of his
behavior, is sitting alone in the dugout. Tess reminds him of how
his wife loved trains and how she saw the good in him when no one
else would, just as Cameron sees the good in Ferdie. Donnie
understands he needs to view the world through Cameron and Ferdie’s
eyes, and the three return home to play with the train set and make
plans for a train trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
