The Dodgers continue to renew the contract of retired baseball player to keep him insured
Andrew Toles has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He hasn't played since 2018.

Dodgers renew Andrew Toles' contract to provide health insurance.
In America, some people are consumed with medical debt, and while many people argue for universal health care, we have to live within the system that currently exists until something changes. This means many Americans live without adequate medical insurance and are saddled with astronomical medical bills. Since healthcare is tied to employment, people who are unemployed are likely disproportionately affected.
People living with severe mental illnesses are most likely to be unable to hold down employment to maintain medical insurance—the same medical insurance that provides mental health services and medication management needed to treat their mental illness. It's a medical care quagmire, and one that retired Dodgers player Andrew Toles would've found himself in, had the Major League Baseball team ended his contract.
Toles signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016 and just two years later, the team placed him on the restricted list indefinitely, essentially retiring the player while he worked on his mental health.
During his absence from the game, Toles has continued to struggle with his mental health. In 2018 he was hospitalized for two weeks and diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. After he was found living behind the Key West International Airport in 2020, the baseball player's father, Alvin Toles, former linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, gained guardianship and Toles has been with him since.
At this point, it's been multiple years since Toles has played baseball professionally, but that hasn't stopped the Dodgers from renewing his contract.
Every year, the baseball team renews Toles's contract for $0 and keeps him on the reserves list so he can keep his health insurance through the team. Mental health care can be expensive, especially when you have severe mental illnesses that may require multiple hospital stays and trials of multiple medications to find the right balance. The Dodgers continually renewing the player's contract is not only heartwarming but admirable.
According to an update in 2021 from Toles' father, the player is still in active psychosis.
"We are having challenges, but nothing that God and I can't handle. Schizophrenia, it's just so tough. I mean, he can't even watch TV. He hears voices and the TV at the same time, so it's kind of confusing. I've seen him looking at some baseball games on his laptop, but I don't think he really understands what's going on," Alvin told USA Today at the time.
The Dodgers keeping Toles on their roster proves to the family that they're not alone. Even if the embattled player doesn't remember his time as a star baseball player or understand the game anymore, his team still has his back.
“His name will pop up randomly in our clubhouse. He fit in with us so fondly and was so adored. It’s just sad to see what has transpired and knowing that a lot of it is out of his control," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told USA Today in 2021. “Man, I would love to see him. I’d love to put my arms around him. I miss him. I really miss him.’’
Toles has been living out his life in a home next door to his father in Georgia, where his dad works hauling chemicals and caring for his son. The Dodgers are hopeful that one day Toles will be well enough to attend a game when they're playing in Atlanta, according to USA Today.
- Snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim gets real about her mental health struggles and triumphs ›
- Former college football player retires early to take charge of his mental health ›
- Student athlete pens powerful letter about mental health as he hangs up his cleats ›
- Man makes hilariously realistic song about medical insurance - Upworthy ›
- New rule bans medical debt being counted on credit reports - Upworthy ›
- Young woman shares baby's atrociously-high medical bill - Upworthy ›
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.