In an on-field ceremony before their game with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, September 5th, the New York Yankees honored the players on the United Spinal Association Yankees wheelchair softball team upon their return to the city after competing at the National Wheelchair Softball Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Yankees announcer Bob Shepherd introduced each player to the crowd as the United Spinal Association Yankees logo was displayed on the Diamond Vision screen. Mr. Shepherd then read the United Spinal Association mission statement to the fans, who gave the Yankees wheelchair softball team a huge round of applause.
United Spinal Association sponsors the Yankees wheelchair softball team, with financial support from the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. As part of its agreement with the New York Yankees, United Spinal Association’s wheelchair-using athletes hold clinics in the New York metropolitan area to introduce children with disabilities to adaptive sports activities.
Wheelchair softball is slow-pitch softball played on a paved surface with painted bases. A 16 inch diameter softball is used and players do not use baseball gloves, making it easier to maneuver on the paved surface. Beyond these simple adaptations, all other baseball rules apply to wheelchair softball.
United Spinal Association is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 to provide expertise, create access to resources and strengthen hope, thereby enabling people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) to fulfill their potential as active members of their communities. United Spinal advocated for and drafted significant portions of landmark federal legislation including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and we continue to provide critical health care and benefits counseling to military veterans from all wars with spinal cord injuries through our Vets First program. Membership is free and open to individuals with disabilities of the spinal cord of all ages. For more information, please visit www.unitedspinal.org or call 800-404-2898.
