Emmy Award(R) nominee! Former Major League Baseball player Sean Casey spent eight years as first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds and also played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2012. After retiring to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Sean and his wife founded Casey’s Clubhouse to help raise funds to build a Miracle League Field for special needs kids. The field opened in 2013.

Chloe Kondrich is one of the Miracle League’s many enthusiastic players. Chloe was born with Down syndrome and her father, Kurt, advocates for inclusion of and early intervention for children with special needs.

Shawna Palmer, another of the Miracle League’s hard-hitters, has a rare chromosomal condition called Tetrasomy 18p. After diagnosing Shawna in the womb, doctors encouraged her mother, Karen, to abort her. The doctors believed aborting Shawna would give her twin brother, Shane, a better shot at survival. But Karen ultimately decided against abortion, and after seeing Shawna light up the Miracle Field, she can’t imagine life without both twins.

Currently, there are 250 Miracle League Organizations in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. The League serves more than 200,000 children with disabilities, and Sean, Kurt and Karen hope its reach continues to grow.