Miracle League field will let all play ball

A $150,000 donation to a Kiwanis project gives special-needs children a reason to be excited.

By JON WILSON
Published November 30, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, John Porreca always heard his mother talk about places for youngsters to play ball.

The memory spurred Porreca and his wife, Debbie, to contribute $150,000 to help see that disabled children will know what it's like to wear a uniform, sit in a dugout, take swings at a ball and travel the bases.

A groundbreaking for the area's first Miracle League ballpark is set for 10:30 a.m. Dec. 10 at the Azalea Little League field, 2900 75th St. N.

It will be called Violet's Field, after Porreca's mother.

"When I lived in Philadelphia, my mother always used to look at these vacant lots and say, "Wouldn't it be nice if those could be ball fields for kids?' " said Porreca, a Pasco County businessman.

The contribution virtually assured that the Miracle League will get under way here.

It's a project of Kiwanis of Gulf Beaches, which has been working for about 14 months to get the league started.

"We're targeting being able to play ball at the opening of the regular season in spring," said Eddie Lee, chairman of the Kiwanis of Gulf Beaches Foundation, and the league's No. 1 booster.

The league is for boys and girls 6 through 18 years old who are considered "special needs" children. Some use walkers and wheelchairs. Others might have emotional issues. A boy who played in Georgia is blind.

"The object of the exercise is to give the kids the sense of participation in team sports instead of being set aside as different," Lee said.

The league is similar to Little League's Challenger Division, which also offers a chance for disabled youngsters to play.

But the Miracle League has one major difference: The field is made of rubber. It's barrier-free and trip-proof, Lee said.

Estimates of how many Pinellas County youngsters might be eligible vary. Some estimates have gone as high as 60,000. But Lee said he's going with 20,000 to 25,000, based on numbers he said the county school district supplied.

The rules, Lee said, are few - "but there are some interesting ones."

Bats are standard, but a special ball about the size of a softball - but softer - is used.

Every child who needs assistance at bat or in the field is helped by a buddy who wears a shirt with the words "Angel in the Outfield," a reference to the 1994 motion picture about the heavenly beings helping a team win the pennant.

Officials see that every child bats in every inning and gets a base hit, and the last batter of each inning gets a home run.

"You don't keep score," Lee said.

The Miracle League Association grew from a 1997 project in Rockdale County, Ga. Its Web site - www.miracleleague.com- doesn't say how many leagues there are across the nation, but the goal was to have 500 fields in place by the end of this year.

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 05:03:50]