Johnny’s Thunder: “Miracle League” gives just that

Baseball is a young-at-heart type of game. Whether you’re five or 75 years old, playing baseball makes you feel like a kid, and gives a time to escape your worries.

For millions of people across America though, the dream of playing baseball is cut short because of physical and mental disabilities which make playing the game under normal circumstances nearly impossible.

But, at least for the Las Vegas region, that barrier has been broken down by the Miracle League of Las Vegas, a non-profit organization that allows athletes to play baseball in an environment and atmosphere that brings pure passion and joy.

Six teams play in the league: the Angels, the Dodgers, the Cardinals, the Mets, the Red Sox, and the Yankees. Every team has about 12 players, as well as “team buddies,” who help the athletes during the game.

I have had the opportunity to announce for the Miracle League the last couple weeks, and I can truly say that no job I ever have will bring as much humility and elation as helping these kids feel like a regular child for even just a few hours. When I announce their names, their faces light up and they wave to their families, who also find happiness in knowing their loved one is a happy, healthy kid for this short time.

I know the Miracle League is about making the kids smile, but I think that the volunteers and families smile as much, if not more, from the heart-warming and humorous moments these athletes provide.

Several of the athletes have a following, and one athlete that has a large following is Josh Gossett, a young man who suffers from Down Syndrome.

Josh takes baseball serious; he shows up early for batting practice, has his own bat, and proudly serves as the captain of the Opportunity Village squad, the Angels.

Before each at-bat, Josh, who likes to be known as “the Phenomenal Flying Angel Captain,” walks up to ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” while waving to the crowd, and then points out to deep center field, in tribute to Babe Ruth.

In the season’s final game, Josh hit two grand slams over the gate and each time sprinted around the bases, much like Mickey Hatcher did after he hit a home run in game one of the 1988 World Series.

Or maybe Moapa Valley’s own Brooke “Brookie” Teeples, the lead-off hitter for the Dodgers, a team coached by Logandale resident Sal Cordaro. Brooke has quite a reputation in the league for bringing smiles to the crowd and entertaining her teammates. Brooke always steps into the batter’s box and gets ready in a routine that reminds someone of David Eckstein, fidgeting and rearranging the position of her hands on the bat preparing to take a healthy hack.

One of the poster-children for the league though is Dan “the Man” McCarty, a seven-year-old from Las Vegas who deals with a disease that causes extremely brittle bones. Dan plays for the Red Sox, and serves as a goodwill ambassador for the league. Unfortunately, Dan’s disease kept him from playing last week’s game as he broke his arm while hugging his brother, but he guest-announced for the Red Sox lineup, still happy from just being at the ballpark.

The stories of athletes like these, and the joy they get from playing baseball once a week, makes it worth it for the roughly 30+ volunteers who wake up early Saturday morning. For the Miracle League, making a group of disabled people feel like normal, regular, healthy folks for a couple of hours is their pleasure, and promise.

Because that makes everybody feel young-at-heart.

Registration for the Miracle League Fall season is starting soon. For more information about playing or volunteering, visit www.miracleleaguelasvegas.com.

The Miracle League hopes to field around 10 teams for the Fall seasons.

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