It was a special day for a group of kids at loanDepot Park on Tuesday.
They walked out on the field ready to play some baseball. After a quick set of instructions from the volunteers, they were off. It didn’t take long to notice that even though this looked like baseball, it sounded a little different.
“The blind can do anything the sighted can do, they just do it a little different,” Cameron Sisser, with Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, said.
This was their annual Beep Ball Classic, a modified version of baseball relying on auditory cues.
“It’s really special to be able to play because of this technology for the visually impaired so they can play our game,” Jeff Conine, a former Miami Marlins player who now works for the team, said..
Known as “Mr. Marlin,” Conine was there to coach the sluggers during every at bat. The Marlins partner with the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind to bring this experience to the kids on the same field that professional baseball players play.
Lavardis Pigford, who is from Miami, was playing for his first time.
“It sounds like fun with all these people trying to get the ball,” he said.
The ball they are trying to “get” emits a beeping and its placed on a tee. When the batter hits it, they must make it to base, which is also making a sound. If the players get to the ball before he or she gets to the base, it’s an out. Otherwise it’s a run, it’s that simple. Other than that, it is just like a regular baseball game with 3 outs per side and innings.
Getting the ball was a challenge at times for Kahlil Fulton.
“I assumed I ran past it because I heard the sound,” he said.
Running around and then crawling, Fulton managed to get the ball before the runner made it to the base.
“The way their faces light up is incredible. A lot of our students haven’t touched a bat, (so) when they connect it’s amazing,” Sisser said.
Throughout the game, the beeps from the ball and the base were continuously drowned out by the cheers and sounds of encouragement from the volunteer from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, and staff of the Miami Marlins, who made this day extra special for those on the field.
