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Touching Bases baseball league celebrates 20th anniversary at Clover Stadium

The special baseball league brings together adults with disabilities to play baseball with modified rules.

News 12 Staff

Sep 21, 2022, 12:16 AM

Updated 568 days ago

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The Touching Bases sports program played special games at Clover Stadium Tuesday night.
The baseball league brings together adults with disabilities to play baseball with modified rules.
They usually play in local parks, but the organizers marked the league’s 20th anniversary by bringing players to the home of the New York Boulders.
Touching Bases founder Bob Bair says he started the league for people who were aging out of Little League for children with disabilities. He thought it would just draw a few young adults.
However, two decades later, there are 150 players in the league.
"Here, we always say the main thing is that it's safe. The second thing is that it is fun. And if baseball happens, that's the icing on the cake. The truth is, a lot of baseball happens, and it's pretty heartwarming,” Bair says.
Jermaine Blount says the league is perfect for those like him who played when they were younger.
"[I played] when I was in kindergarten and junior high school. I'm in this league now…I love playing for this team,” he says.
While the average age is 50, some players are as old as 80.
Bair says he didn’t expect so many sponsors and volunteers would lift up the program to what it is now.


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