The game followed ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the adaptive diamond that drew nearly 300 people, including the city’s mayor and former Minnesota Twins standout Tony Olivia. Nate Johnson says his father, who died in early 2005, would have been proud of every athlete on the field, each one with a physical or mental handicap.
He also would have been proud – and humbled – by the special field being named in his honor. Traditional fields prevent some people with disabilities from playing because the dirt and grass surfaces are hard to navigate, the bases are above ground and are spaced too far apart. The adaptive field is made of a soft, rubbery material similar to a tennis court, observes Nate.
Paul, who was a charter member of the Rochester Covenant Church, coached junior high baseball and taught English for more than 30 years, neither of which is an easy task nor attracts much attention.
“The middle school coach coaches everybody,” Nate says. “People don’t get cut. They don’t get the praise. The media doesn’t come and do stories.”
What the coaches do, if they are like Paul Johnson, is love baseball and their students. Some in the crowd Saturday had played for Paul decades ago. “The kids remembered him,” says wife Mary Ann. “Kids would come up to him and say you were my favorite teacher.”
Paul tried to use his influence as a baseball coach in the classroom. “Because he taught baseball, he thought he might have a little ‘in’ with the boys that didn’t like English,” Mary Ann says.
The field is only the second of its kind in Minnesota, but one of an increasing number around the country. Miracle Leagues for people with handicaps began forming in the late 1990s, and the first of the special fields was built in 2000 in Georgia. According to the Miracle League website, the player who threw out the first ball had been in a coma only a week before.
Every player bats and scores during an inning. Community children and volunteers act as “buddies” and assist each of the players. The accompanying photo shows some of the players in the opening game. To see additional photos or the field and Paul Johnson, please see Miracle Field.
“It was awesome to watch them play a sport that we take for granted,” Nate says of Saturday’s event. Two players hit home runs over the fence. “The first one was just ecstatic. At the end when we were cleaning up, he was just walking around the park so proud, still holding on to the ball.”
The Youth Baseball Association already has around 60 youth signed up to play and a pool of nearly 2,000 individuals involved in the local Department of Parks and Recreation activities from which to draw.
The local Chamber of Commerce’s leadership class of 2006 decided to make construction of the field its project and they raised the needed $240,000. The first fundraising event featured old-fashioned concessions that served hot dogs and peanuts.
Now in Rochester, when anyone sings “Take me out to the ball game,” they not only can go to the park, but everyone can join in the game.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
