Miracle League baseball holds first game

After three straight Saturday rainouts, it seemed like the “miracle” in the area’s first-ever Miracle League would be playing its first-ever game.

The miracle finally happened on June 1, when the rains finally held off and the Miracle League of the Albemarle Sound hosted its first game on a baseball diamond at the Perquimans County Recreation Department in Hertford.

According to league organizer Cyrus “Skip” Hawkins, 17 youth ages 6-19 with either mental or physical disabilities played in the first game — the first of five the Miracle League of Albemarle Sound plans to hold this summer.

For many of the players, who hail from either Perquimans, Chowan or Pasquotank counties, it was the first time they had ever played baseball, Hawkins said.

“They did great,” he said. “The temperature was in the high 70s and that was great for them.”

June 1st was also the first time many of the “buddies” — the volunteers who helped the players as they hit, fielded and moved around the bases — had ever participated in anything like a Miracle League game, Hawkins said.

“A lot of kids from Perquimans High School volunteered to help as did the participants’ parents,” he said.

To help keep players from getting too much sun, Hawkins said they took breaks between the first and second innings.

“We’d like to put a tarp or some cover over the dugout” to protect players from the sun, Hawkins said.

Hawkins says Miracle League is special because it provides both children and adults who have disabilities a non-competitive sports outlet that fits their skill level.

Founded in Conyers, Georgia, over 20 years ago by the Rockdale Youth Baseball Association, Miracle League has since grown to 350 leagues in the U.S. and six in other countries.

In Miracle League’s two-inning games, the rules are pretty simple, Hawkins says. “Every player bats once an inning, all players are safe on the bases, and every player scores a run before the inning is over,” he said. “The last batter up in the inning gets a home run.”

And oh yeah, each team and each player wins every game, he said.

Hawkins, who lives in Hertford, began organizing the local Miracle League last year, after moving to the area. He had spent time volunteering with the Miracle League of Johnston County from 2013-19 when he lived there, and thought something similar could work here, especially after learning how big a fan base baseball has in the area.

Hawkins spent a lot of time in front of area civic clubs pitching the idea of a Miracle League. He’s also been busy fundraising to help pay the league’s costs. Each year, Miracle Leagues have to pay a $500 licensing fee for the right to use the league’s name. Hawkins has already paid the fee twice out of his own pocket.

“I get a lot more out of it than they do,” he said, referring to the players.

After distributing 400 publicity notices over the winter at civic clubs, schools and physician offices, Hawkins was able to register 20 kids for the league’s first roster. He said fundraising for the league is ongoing. A former colleague from his previous job donated $1,000 and neighbors, friends, and others have also pitched in.

Businesses have also helped.

With all that hitting, fielding and running the bases, the Miracle League players worked up an appetite during their first game. Fortunately, organizers had plenty of donated food for them once the game was over.

“They were looking forward to their hotdogs served after the game. Hardee’s in Hertford donated 60 hotdogs,” Hawkins said.

After the initial five games are in the books, Hawkins said parents will decide if they want to play five more games this fall. He’s hopeful that the games will continue. He’s got big plans.

“In the future I’d love to play in the Skippers stadium in Elizabeth City and the Steamers stadium in Edenton,” Hawkins said.

For right now, the thing he’d really like to have more of are fans.

“We need to hear more people cheering on the first base side,” Hawkins said. “We had a lot of people cheering on the third base side. They (players) enjoy it and like to hear the people cheering for them.”