by Kevin Burton
In five-plus years I have never asked you readers for anything on Page 7, except for your attention and maybe to suspend disbelief a time or two.
Today’s post is a little different. So what’s gotten into me today? Why am I asking for your help?
Well, you could say it is curative powers of Spring, which for me has always meant baseball, which for decades now has meant beep baseball.
Beep baseball, in turn, means much more than wins and losses.
Beep baseball is a version of baseball with rules adapted for blind players. The balls beep, the bases buzz. Blind position players are blindfolded so as to erase any advantage a partially-sighted player such as me would get over someone who is totally blind.
A sighted pitcher, catcher and two sighted defensive helpers called “spotters” are essential to the game.
This (God willing) will be my third year playing for the Cleveland Scrappers. It’s a solid organization with a more than 40-year history of service to the blind.
I have written a lot about beep baseball, about my time as one of the better players in the game, as a coach, and now as a much lesser player.
The game is expensive because of the technology and the fact that so few teams exist. For example for my Cleveland team, no other teams are what you would call close. There are teams in Philadelphia, upstate New York, Chicago and two in Indianapolis.
For sighted players it’s so easy to play church-league softball and play three or four games a week. Beep baseball teams have to travel long distances by either rented van or by plane. When we get to the tournament site we have to pay steep hotel bills.
In asking for financial support for the Scrappers, I will ask a question, perhaps the one you are asking, then begin to answer it:
The question, why should people help pay for my hobby just because I am blind? I said “begin” to answer it because there is so much more to it than I can fit into this post.
When I coached the Wichita Sonics team I told my players that if all they got out of it was wins and losses, I had not done my job.
Blind players come in all shapes and sizes, and from all backgrounds. Some have been blind all their lives, some are newly blinded.
The teams I have played on have had a majority of players who were employed or trying to be employed, pursing achievements and expecting success. The team, without necessarily trying to be so, is a means of mentoring and in some cases a source of job leads. I myself got a job I kept for 14 years based on a tip from a team mate.
Blind teammates are a source of information about computer technology, independent living and travel skills and more. There is a great deal of real-life networking going on. We can’t talk ball all the time!
Because a beep baseball team is a small business, (most including the Scrappers are set up as a 501c3 tax-exempt entity) blind players get a chance to hone a wide array professional skills, including public relations, fundraising, accounting, recruiting and retention, purchasing, contract negotiating, event coordinating, food prep, sales and more.
Beep baseball is a venue where blind and sighted people work closely together, using the talents of both.
A travelling blind baseball team is a walking talking advertisement for the capabilities of the blind. It’s fine to put on a suit and tie and make a speech about employment for the blind. I’ve done my share of that. But how much better is it to show this by means of baseball?
Everybody knows baseball!
How many times have I heard a sighted person say “I didn’t know blind people could play baseball.” What an easy opening for me to talk about technology making the baseball possible and technology making employment in various fields possible.
By donating you would help pay expenses for the three tournaments the Scrappers plan to attend this year.
OK, here are some ways you can help:
(For links that actually work, please go to www.clevelandscrappers.org or to the team’s Facebook page.)
Right now the Scrappers are selling squares in an NCAA Tournament Raffle. There are 100 squares for $20 each. Each square will have a number pertaining to the halftime score and the final score for the NCAA Championship Game to be played April 7. Two $500 cash prizes will be awarded based on these squares.
Also, at www.clevelandscrappers.org you can buy Scrappers t-shirts and get much more information about the team.
Helping in those two ways is considered a purchase. But if you make a donation to the club that is not tied to purchase of a product, that is tax deductible. It’s a very good cause, and help with your tax bill never hurts.
To donate, make checks payable to “Cleveland Scrappers” and mail to Kevin Barrett, Cleveland Scrappers, 5175 Evergreen Dr., North Olmsted, Ohio 44070.
(Don’t be confused. Your humble blogger dude is Kevin Burton. Don’t send any money to me.)
Can’t help right now? Please share this blog post with others who can. Thanks so much for your consideration. Your support means more than I can say!
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