Spokane Indians’ Bambino Buddy Ball is a homerun for players who battle daily off the field

While most children are able to sign up every year to play sports, those with physical and mental disabilities have limited options and may never see the field or court.

Bambino Buddy Ball provides an outlet for children and young adults to play baseball while interacting with peers and pushing beyond their perceived limits, according to Buddy Ball associates.

Buddy Ball is chartered through the Babe Ruth League and is part of Spokane Indians Youth Baseball & Softball, said Leslie Sigrah, president of Buddy Ball in Spokane. Kent Burns, who has a son with a disability, started the program in Spokane in 2007, and Sigrah developed it from there.

Sigrah was inspired to get involved in Buddy Ball after her son was diagnosed with periventricular heterotopia, a rare brain condition, when he was 6 years old. Doctors told her he would never play sports, but she believed playing was a significant part of children’s lives.

Sigrah said her son and daughter, who also has a disability, played Buddy Ball for seven years.

“I couldn’t not do it,” she said about running the league. “I just feel like it’s a thing that these kids need.”

The eight-week, six-game season starts around late April or early May, Sigrah said. Teams, which are made up of five to seven players, practice once or twice a week. They play three-inning games on the weekend at the Shadle Park High School softball fields.

“Really, this program isn’t about baseball,” Sigrah said. “It’s about social skills more than anything. It’s about learning how to be a good team member, how to listen to directions well, how to respect your coach, how to be social with other kids in an appropriate manner.’

Sigrah said anyone who isn’t a danger to themselves or others can play.

The Indians’ Buddy Ball website indicates players as young as 5 can play. Sigrah said a 34-year-old player recently joined the program.

She estimated that over a dozen players in the program have played more than 10 years. Those players receive a 10-year medal.

Chris Nathaniel, a 19-year-old player on the White Sox, is one of those decade-plus veterans.

He said he loves playing with his teammates and being with his coach.

“I miss my coach all the time,” Nathaniel said.

A “buddy,” like a parent or peer, can help a player swing a bat, field a ground ball or perform other skills on the field. Don Black was one of the buddies Wednesday at Zakheim Family Field at Mission Park in Spokane. He was assisting his son, 21-year-old Anthony Black, on the artificial-turf diamond built in 2017. He said his son’s baseball skills greatly improved over his 15 years with the program.

“He doesn’t get a lot of opportunities, especially with his peers, so it’s a great opportunity for him to be with kids his age and to be able to do the things that normal kids can do,” Don Black said of his son, who has Down syndrome.

Don Black turns his buddy duties over to another buddy on game days so he can watch his son, who plays for the league’s Phillies team, from the stands.

“Having that opportunity to just be in the bleachers and cheer him on is huge for us,” he said. “It gives us a chance to kind of step away from it. It gives you that normal feeling like all the other parents experience with baseball and whatnot.”

Patrick Troyer is another parent who praised Buddy Ball.

He helped his stepson, 17-year-old Jordan Gray, play third base at Wednesday’s practice.

Troyer said Gray, who is in his first season in the league, kept saying he wanted to go on the field at Spokane Indians games, so Troyer started searching for local baseball leagues suitable for Gray, who has cerebral palsy and is on the autism spectrum. He eventually found Buddy Ball and signed him up.

Gray’s mother cried tears of joy when she found out her son was going to play, Troyer said.

“This means the world not only to her, but to him,” Troyer said.

Troyer pushes Gray around the bases in his wheelchair and helps him on the field as well.

“He’s scooping up grounders for the first time in his life, so it’s really awesome,” Troyer said.

He said his son has a blast and feels welcomed, adding that everyone is supportive and cheers for him.

“When he gets in that truck and he knows we’re coming to practice or the game, he is just giddy as can be,” Troyer said.

Phillies coach Andrew Cook, who is in his second year of coaching Buddy Ball, led his team through fundamentals, like throwing and fielding, on Wednesday.

He said it’s important to provide children the opportunity to see what they can do and not assume they can’t do something, like play baseball.

“I think that makes a huge difference, just to kind of see what people can do,” he said.

Cook coaches his son, 13-year-old Nate Cook, who has played four years of Buddy Ball.

Nate hit multiple home runs at Wednesday’s practice.

“I like hitting it over the fence and hitting the scoreboard,” he said.

Nate previously played Little League Baseball, and while his physical skills were adequate for the league, Buddy Ball better accommodates his cognitive abilities, Cook said. His son has an intellectual disability and autism.

While he said his son doesn’t need a buddy in the field, he loves having one to socialize with, which is what he needs to practice.

Will Fulton, who is in his first season coaching the Phillies, said he enjoys hanging out with the players, throwing for batting practice and watching them improve. Some players ripped a few line drives past his head during batting practice Wednesday.

“It’s a blast,” he said of coaching the players. “I love it.”

Sigrah said eight teams are playing this year, well below the 14 teams that played in its most popular season. She at least partly attributed the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic and said she would love to see the league grow.

It costs $35 to sign up, and players receive a jersey, hat, pants and belt.

Sigrah said Buddy Ball hosts a banquet at the end of the year where players earn a trophy. While many people make fun of participation trophies, Sigrah said they are a big deal for these players.

“They don’t get rewarded for hardly anything they do in life,” she said. “Everything is a struggle.”

Sigrah said she cried at one banquet after a player – wearing a dress shirt and pants, tie and shined shoes – thanked her for his trophy.

“He was crying, and he said, ‘Leslie, I’ve never gotten a trophy in my life. I’ve never gotten an award for anything,’ ” she said.