Sharing the miracle of baseball

"Every child deserves a chance to play baseball."

That is the belief and goal of the Miracle League of Sweetwater County, and they are working to not only give children opportunities to play baseball, but to also create a new and accessible space in Green River where it's even easier to do so.

Formerly operating as the Challenger League, the local group has now partnered with The Miracle League organization, which focuses on giving children with mental and physical disabilities the chance to play baseball. Becoming a Miracle League partner provides new options and opportunities locally, but the goal remains being able to "provide athletic opportunity for people with all types of abilities, ages, and stages," according to Brittney Montgomery.

Montgomery, along with other board members and players, recently presented plans and goals for the Miracle League of Sweetwater County to both the Green River City Council at their March 5 meeting and the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Rec Board during their meeting Tuesday night.

While The Miracle League has groups across the country and around the world, Sweetwater County's group is now the first and only Miracle League in Wyoming.

"We're pretty excited to be the ones to house it here in Sweetwater," Montgomery said, adding that it's especially important to the group to be able to keep the project in Green River.

The Miracle League already has filled up their 2024 season with 59 players, even more than in past years. This year they will continue to use the fields at Stratton Myers Park, as they have in the past. Montgomery pointed out that the fields at Stratton are beautiful and the group loves being able to use them, however, they are not fully handicap accessible and inclusive under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

That's where the Miracle League's plans for the future come in. The ultimate goal is to have a new inclusive and fully ADA-accessible complex including a baseball field, dugouts, bathrooms, parking, and an attached inclusive playground. The project is a large one and includes aggressive planning, which is all "exciting to see and dream," according to Montgomery.

The Miracle League is currently working on a list of short-term goals to build up to being able to break ground on this new complex. Their first phase includes their recent presentations, since it involves getting the word out about becoming a Miracle League partner and creating local partnerships, as well as looking for space and land for the complex.

Phase two will involve securing funding, and the goal is to acquire $1 million for the project. Later phases will include working with vendors and developing a construction schedule. Long-term goals and dreams involve what the complex and the league would look like, from hosting tournaments to expanding into other sports to adding on to the complex with things like miniature golf.

"This would also be a future event space for our community," Montgomery said, pointing out there are many options for how the complex could be used.

The Miracle League is already in the process of looking at where the complex could be built, and is considering land close to Stratton Myers that is currently owned by the Bureau of Land Management and leased to the City of Green River.

"It's right there looking at the other baseball fields," Montgomery noted.

One of the considerations for finding land is having enough space to meet all the requirements needed for the complex, but an advantage is having many of the plans already in place.

"Another piece to building a Miracle League [complex] is they have very specific ADA-inclusive specs and materials and certain manufacturers they want us to use, so it's an aggressive plan, but it's nice to have that stuff mapped out," Montgomery explained. "Once we acquire land, the agreement, and some of our funding, we'll be able to do this pretty quickly."

The Miracle League approached the City Council about creating a partnership in working to find the land and create the complex, and approached the School District Rec Board about funding for this season to cover equipment, uniforms, and insurance.

"Hopefully you're as excited as we are at, again, the unlimited opportunity and advocacy awareness that this is going to bring to our area," Montgomery said to the City Council.