Pitcher Alex Williams was somewhere in the middle of the Blue Wahoos new indoor batting facility, surrounded by happiness.
After a couple years absence, the Chevy Youth Baseball and Softball Clinic, returned July 11 at Blue Wahoos Stadium, which provided special-needs participants from the Miracle League of Pensacola to have their own experience with professional baseball players.
For an hour on this day, eight Blue Wahoos players encouraged, cheered and helped the Miracle League players enjoy unforgettable moments.
“It is amazing honestly,” said Williams, who is part of the Blue Wahoos starting pitching rotation and 11th round draft pick in 2022 by the Miami Marlins, following his four college seasons at Stanford.
“I really didn’t know what this all entailed,” Williams said. “So I felt very blessed to be able to do this one. Obviously, it’s a great opportunity to be with these guys and see how excited they are about the game and have some fun.
“It’s definitely inspiring to me as well.”
The free event for the Miracle League players was followed by the main portion of the clinic for youth baseball-softball players ages 6-14. The Gulf Coast Chevy Dealers have been a presenting sponsor since the Blue Wahoos became part of the national tour after the team’s inaugural 2012.
Jada Washington, the Blue Wahoos community relations and group sales executive, was the point person who arranged the clinic and coordinated the setup process.
Pensacola is one of the just three Chevy Youth Clinics in Florida and among the 18 different cities which staged one. Some of the others were major markets like Atlanta, Philadelphia, Charlotte, St. Louis and Houston.
Pensacola’s special distinction is being the only one of the clinics nationwide with its own separate hour-long session with participants in the Miracle League.
“It is really special that Pensacola does that,” said Amanda Helton, account director for GM Dealer Programs, based in Alpharetta, Ga. “I always want to come and work this one. I have been doing this for 16 years now and at some stops the Miracle League is incorporated into the main clinic, but for Pensacola to have its own one for the Miracle League is really cool.”
Williams and his Blue Wahoos teammates helped the Miracle League players hit soft baseballs off batting tees and helped with ground ball fielding to each participant. They did this less than 12 hours after a game the previous night against the Montgomery Biscuits as part of the recent homestand.
“Just look around at the smiles,” said Jarry Ramsey, league commissioner of Pensacola’s Miracle League chapter. “You can tell what this means to our players. The coolest thing as a (Miracle League) parent is seeing our players from all ages out here.”
Ramsey, a long-time high school official, got involved in the Miracle League in 2011 when his daughter first joined the Miracle League. His daughter is now 37 and still playing in the Miracle League.
Rasmey said the local chapter now has nearly 300 members, ranging in ages from 3 to 74. The league stops during the peak summer months June through August due to heat concerns.
“This community has just been so supportive of the Miracle League,” Ramsey said. “That is the biggest thing I have taken from it since I became league director. The community support has been overwhelming.
“This year we added one week of kickball and for those (participants) in wheelchairs we created a lever to attach on the chair so that it could kick the ball and that was great to see.”
Blue Wahoos players who cheered on the Miracle League participants then followed with more advanced instruction for the players from area youth leagues who participated in the main clinic.
“So meaningful,” Williams said. “The game is the game. I remember growing up seeing big leaguers and just being around them was awesome.
“I’m sure the (fellow Blue Wahoos) players here love the experience and what it means to do this. It was just as great for us to be here for (Miracle League players) and have an impact on them.”
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