Miracle League gets newly renovated baseball field renamed Padres Park
Spring training is still about a month away, but a couple of San Diego Padres were back on a baseball field, Sunday.
The former Engel Family Field at San Dieguito County Park in Del Mar is now named Padres Park. It is home to players with the Miracle League of San Diego, a chapter of the national organization that provides children and adults with special needs the opportunity to play baseball in an organized league.
“They share the same passion for baseball that I do and I connect with them. (I think) we big league players take that for granted,” said Joe Musgrove, Padres pitcher. Musgrove joined Padres outfielder, Jackson Merrill and Erik Greupner, the team’s CEO Sunday morning for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
They share the same passion for baseball that I do and I connect with them. (I think) we big league players take that for granted.Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres Pitcher
A few hundred families brought their children who play on the 27 Miracle League teams in San Diego County, Sunday, to see the new ball park which underwent a $900,000 renovation making it safer for those living with physical and intellectual challenges.
“Let’s face it, we’re not all going to be here forever. It’s important to know he has a safe place and belongs. That’s what all of us want for our children,” Gracie Modica told NBC 7 about her son Dean, 12, who usually plays the position of catcher in the league. “I like getting people out, and hitting home runs,” her son said.
The Miracle League raised $600,000 toward the renovation cost, including $310,000 in donations, $250,000 from the San Diego Padres Foundation, and $40,000 from County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s office through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program.
The remaining $250,000 will come from the County’s Department of Parks and Recreation budget.
The ball park opened in 2007 funded by Dan and Suzie Engel to provide children with disabilities a safe, accessible place to play. Engel Family Field was the first fully accessible ball field of its kind in Southern California.
“These are all athletes who don’t ordinarily have a chance to play in a league. They’re out there having fun with their “buddy” who has devoted time to them,” said Dan Engel, co-founder of the Miracle League San Diego Chapter. Engel cut the ribbon at the ceremony after saying he was “happy to retired the family name” and collaborate with the County and Padres on making the facility better.
Charlotte Dwyer and her daughter, Arabella, 10, were there from Carlsbad to see the new field. “I love how I get a home run, and when we run we high five people, and say go team,” Arabella said holding her team baseball mitt.
