Baseball players with disabilities from Miracle League programs around the country are headed to Frisco this weekend for the seventh annual National Miracle League All-Star Game, a three-day gathering that includes a game at the Frisco RoughRiders' home ballpark, Riders Field.
The Miracle League runs baseball programs for youth and adults with disabilities, played on rubber-turf fields designed so players using wheelchairs and other assistive equipment can take part. Its all-star weekend runs Oct. 16 to 18, from Friday through Sunday, according to reports from two Iowa news outlets covering a Dubuque player who was selected to attend.
The weekend schedule
According to the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, the festivities open Friday with a parade and a dinner. Also on Friday, players who need less help on the field will play a more competitive game, and it will be held at Riders Field.
Saturday brings four more games at a Miracle League field in the area, plus a home run derby. A special breakfast with Homer, the league's baseball-headed mascot, is also on the schedule before players head home Sunday, the paper reported.
One player's trip
In Iowa, the Miracle League of Dubuque picked its nominee by drawing at random from the names of its 10 most regular players during the spring and summer seasons, a board member told the Telegraph Herald.
The player chosen, an 18-year-old who has played with the Dubuque league for five years, is the fifth from that program to go to a national all-star game, and a Dubuque player won last year's home run derby, the paper reported.
