Miracle League athletes meet Pirates players, pierogies
CRANBERRY TWP — The Miracle League baseball diamond became their own field of dreams Saturday for 24 Miracle League athletes.
Not only did they get to meet the Pirate Parrot, the racing pierogies from PNC Park and Pirates players Tyler Beede, Chase De Jong, Jason Delay, Zach Thompson and All-Star David Bednar, a Mars native, but the big leaguers put on a skills clinic.
The children and young adults with special needs got instruction on hitting, throwing and fielding, as well as the young athletes’ favorite activity: running the bases. They were accompanied by their buddies, adult volunteers who assist the player in batting and running the bases.
From 9 a.m. to noon the UPMC Passavant Sportsplex at Graham Park’s Miracle Field hosted 24 young athletes, three each from eight regional Miracle League organizations.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting was in attendance as well on a picture-perfect day for baseball.
Nutting said, “The Miracle League program is a really important part of Pirates Charities for 15 years. We love to have our players interact with the Miracle League players.
“It gives them a great appreciation of the challenges the athletes and their parents face every day. We’re just happy to make it a special day for them all,” said Nutting.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton echoed the sentiment.
“I think we are all excited to be here. We’re very passionate about the Miracle League in the Pirate organization starting with the owner Bob Nutting,” said Shelton. “It’s a chance to spend the day with some kids.”
The Pirates couldn’t have been as excited as the Miracle League players taking part in the camp. Before the skills clinic began, they shook hands with the Pirate Parrot and the pierogies, got their faces painted and were given Wiffle balls and bats, hats, posters and Elmo dolls in Pirate jerseys. They tested their pitching and batting skills in inflatable tents set up outside the ball field.
Each of the fantasy camp attendees received a custom-made Pirates jersey, which they got signed by the big-leaguers in attendance; a commemorative event medal; and the chance to create their own baseball card, according to Jacque Skowvron. Skowvron is the executive director of Pirates Charities, which hosted the camp in partnership with Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids, a nonprofit organization providing children with special needs the opportunity to learn baseball fundamentals from professional coaches and players.
“This is the first one we’ve been able to do in three years because of COVID. It’s pretty special because of that,” said Skowvron.
Miracle League participant Sara Work, 10, of North Sewickley Township in Beaver County, thought the day was great.
When asked which part, Sara said, “All of it, the gumballs and being with the Pirates.”
Her mother, Donna Young, said, “This is her first year. She loves it. All of her brothers are in baseball.”
Tiffanie Hicks of Derry, Westmoreland County, drove an hour and 20 minutes so her son, William Shaffer, 8, could take part in the fantasy camp.
Hicks said, “He loves it. He wants to be a professional baseball player.”
She said events such as this were just as important for the parents.
“I talk about (the Miracle League) with everyone I run across,” she said. “I try to get everyone involved.”
“We work with all kids. Some with ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) don’t have the attention span to play nine innings,” said Hicks.
“We’re making friends outside the school district. They get to play with kids from other districts,” she said.
Saturday’s fantasy camp was a day long in coming for Mike Sherry, founder and president of Miracle League of Southwestern PA. He said the pandemic and its restrictions had been hard on the special-needs athletes.
“The special-needs community was in isolation, cut off from the peers,” he said.
The radio executive learned about the Miracle League when he was working in Birmingham, Ala. When his daughter Jordan was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, he decided to start one in Cranberry Township, where he is now living.
“I went to a lot of Rotary breakfasts in Butler County. Bob Nutting and Pirate Charities helped legitimize what we are doing,” he said.
The field opened in 2009, he said, with the assistance of Cranberry Township and Pirates Charities, among many other volunteers and sponsors.
Sherry said now there are 22 teams of 15 to 20 players playing in spring and fall seasons.
“We keep growing. We want to have a senior league for players (age) 21-plus,” he said.
“The fantasy camp represents a beacon of light. The athletes get to meet the Pirate Parrot, the players. These are life-changing memories,” Sherry said.
