Reliant on a wheelchair since childhood, Stephanie Muniz sometimes struggles to confidently navigate her way through the world.
But on Saturday mornings when she plays baseball in the Miracle League, things are different.
In one game, Muniz worked up the courage to remove the chest straps that secure her in her wheelchair. In another, she got out of her wheelchair and with assistance – and spectators cheering her on – walked from third base to home plate.
“Eleven years later it is still one of my favorite memories,” said Muniz, 34, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was a baby.
Adults and children with disabilities – intellectual, physical or both – have been playing weekly baseball games at East Orlando’s Trotter Park for more than 20 years, pushing the boundaries of their disabilities and celebrating what they can do.
But to keep the Saturday games alive, the league needs to upgrade its aging facilities. The baseball diamond, with a hard turf for wheelchairs, has begun to bow and crack. And the league has long relied on a rented portable toilet that isn’t handicapped accessible, so many of the players cannot use it.
The city chipped in $230,000 to install the field and now rents the league the land for $1 a year. It has offered to pay for a sewer line to any new bathrooms but said building the bathrooms and upgrading the field are the Miracle League’s responsibility.
That’s left league officials disappointed but also looking for private donors.
Kelly Puckett, founder of the league, said he thinks the city should do more.
“I believe that children with disabilities, for a long time, have been forgotten about by the county and the city,” Puckett said.
But city officials said they have already gone beyond the terms of the league’s lease agreement.
“The city said, ‘If you want the land, you can have it, but you got to raise the capital to go do it.’ And their answer was, ‘Great. Thank you for the land. We appreciated it,” said Commissioner Robert Stuart, whose district includes the park. “And now, 25 years later, they’re saying, “What are you doing for me lately?’”
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, learned of the league’s troubles and reached out to donors who gave a combined $80,000.
“I do feel like it is government’s responsibility to ensure the health and safety of every constituent, and that includes folks of diverse backgrounds and abilities,” Eskamani said. “And so if you’re in a situation where there’s a clear need, but the public sector doesn’t have the resources to address it, this is where partnerships matter.”
With those donations, the league now has enough money to start construction on the new field, which Houlihan hopes will happen after the spring season is over in May. But the league still needs to raise about $200,000 to complete the project and hopes more donors will help cover those bills.
There are about 350 Miracle Leagues across North America, with more than 450,000 players. The Central Florida league was founded more than 20 years ago and was the first in the state. It has 70 players and hosts two 10-week seasons a year.
The only rule that is strictly enforced is every player gets to hit and every player gets to score in every game.
“It’s quite impressive how patient they are with each person. They don’t rush them. They will pitch a ball until that person hits the ball,” said Amber Groh, whose 20-year-old-son, Malic Groh, who joined the league last month.
Malic is in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy, a severe case of scoliosis, and a permanently dislocated hip. He can only speak a few words.
At his first game, Groh assumed someone would hit the ball for him, and was surprised when a tee was brought out and a bat was placed in Malic’s ...
