Children with special needs soon will have a special place to play baseball in southwestern Pennsylvania, as a result of help provided by the Pittsburgh Pirates and a Pirates player.
It was announced today that Pirates Charities, the baseball club's philanthropic arm, will partner with the Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania to build the Pirates Charities Miracle League Field. The field, to be located in Cranberry Township's new Dick's Sporting Goods Sportsplex at Graham Park, will serve children from throughout the region.
As part of the agreement, Pirates Charities has committed to provide $200,000 toward construction of the ballfield - the area's first for children with special needs. The donation includes $50,000 from Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez and his wife, Alissa.
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Photo by Dave Arrigo/Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez and the Pirate Parrot mascot talk with children present for the announcement that a new Miracle League baseball field will be constructed to serve southwestern Pennsylvania.
Among special features of the field will be a synthetic surface, to make it possible for children in wheelchairs and walkers to use the facility safely.
Also planned are an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant concession stand, dugouts and restrooms. Lights will allow use of the field for night games. The field is expected to open in May 2009.
"The Pirates Charities Miracle Field will allow special needs children throughout our region to realize the dream of playing baseball. More important, it will give these children and their families an opportunity to develop relationships with their peers and other families facing similar challenges," commented Pirates Chairman of the Board Robert Nutting. He added that, "The Pirates' responsibility as an organization is to find ways to impact the community overall and to make it a better place for children to grow up and families to live."
Mike Sherry, president of the MLWSPA, has worked hard for two years to build support for the project. He praised the Pirates and Sanchez and his wife for aiding his organization to "create this miracle."
Sherry explained that he and his wife, Chris, witnessed activity at a Miracle League field in Alabama a few years ago. "When we looked out onto the field, we began to watch kids with wheelchairs and walkers and kids that had sight disabilities play the game that we can- America's game - baseball," he noted. "We also saw parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters crying, and these were not the tears of pain that so many families cry when they have a child with special needs. These were tears of joy."
"It's something that hits at my heart," Sanchez said. "There should be nothing to hold these kids down. Whether you're in a wheelchair, whether you're challenged, they're going to be able to go out and live their dream."