A day with the Miracle League

The production crew put together this video for the visit made by some Timber Rattlers players to a Miracle League of the Fox Valley game:

Rattlers Players at Miracle League

Mike Woods has a column on a big night at the Miracle League last night.

Timber Rattlers players lend a helping hand with Miracle League of the Fox Valley

It's hard to believe a six-year-old could flash more skills on the diamond than a professional baseball player.

But I'm telling you, it's true. Meet Appleton's Theodore Van Domelen. He plays for the Twins. Weighs, oh, about 40 pounds. He was the bespectacled one wearing those John Lennon-style glasses with the hat that was a tad too big for his head Tuesday at John Wollner Fox Cities Miracle Field at Memorial Park.

You couldn't miss him. One minute he was collecting hits off Scooter Gennett of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, one of many who ended Gennett's prospects as a pitcher as he left with an ERA hovering around 90.00 after just two innings of work.

The next he was over commandeering the camera of the local newspaper photographer, helping him snap a few pictures. For good measure, he also did a little announcing and also held the hand of public address man Kirby Krueger, who apparently needed some love and support.

Post-Crescent Photo: Dan Powers

Read the rest of the story at the link.  Then, check out the whole photo gallery from last night.

Serious

The Rattlers have a Strike Out cancer Day on Sunday.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are teaming up with AFLAC for the fifth annual Strike Out Cancer Day at Time Warner Cable Field. The special event takes place on Sunday, July 11th as the Timber Rattlers take on the Burlington Bees at 1:05pm.

Timber Rattler fans can help raise money and awareness for area cancer charities by attending the game. For every ticket purchased on July 11, one dollar will be donated to one of the charities participating in the event. The Foundation for Children with Cancer will also be selling raffle tickets for a chance to win baseballs autographed by current Milwaukee Brewers.

Additionally, stylists from Shear Chaos Salon will be on hand for a Locks for Love Drive.

After the game, stop by the Buffalo Wild Wings on Casaloma Drive in Appleton. They are donating 10% of their proceeds from 4pm to 8pm on Sunday to Strike Out Cancer.

Area Charities the Timber Rattlers are raising money for are:

• Families of Children with Cancer

• Marshfield Clinic Department of Pediatric Oncology

• Community Benefit Tree

• AFLAC Children's Cancer Center

Badges...You want these stinkin' badges

Did you hear about the new "Badges for Baseballs" program in the Fox Valley? If you didn't that's kind of one of the jobs of this blog.

Law enforcement officers in the Fox Valley will soon team up with some unlikely partners for an unlikely mission. Badges for Baseball will have officers teaching middle school-age kids to swing for the stars.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen was shaking mitts in Appleton Wednesday as he announced the program will expand to the Fox Valley this season.

"It was a phenomenal success, so we decided we wanted to not only to do it in Milwaukee again but we wanted to expand it because ultimately we want it to be a statewide program," Van Hollen said.

The program run by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation will utilize the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers staff and facilities. The 12-week program will be run at the Boys and Girls Club and will include 200 children.

Area law enforcement officers will serve as mentors and coaches. At-risk and underprivileged kids will be picked to participate and provided with the latest equipment.

Go read the whole thing.

A small part

and we were happy to play it.

Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region announced today that a $100,000 grant from its Fox Cities Stadium Charitable Fund will make it possible for a new Miracle League field to open this spring at Memorial Park.

The Miracle League is an organized baseball league for youths with physical and/or cognitive disabilities between the ages of 4 and 19 who play non-competitive, organized ball on a fully accessible, rubberized field.

...

And because of a $100,000 grant from the Fox Cities Stadium Charitable Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, the first phase — the new field — will be ready for the Miracle League’s teams to play ball on June 5.

Stan Baehman, spokesman for the stadium fund group, said it wanted to give the field project a big boost.

“We felt our gift could move the project forward and help it to become a reality,” Baehman said in a release today.

Click through on the link up top to see which figure in Timber Rattlers history will have the field named after him.

Congratulations to The Miracle League of the Fox Valley. We will see you at your Opening Day on June 5, 2010!

At the Christmas Parade

Post-Crescent photo by Bonnie Lutzewitz

We're going to Sheboygan

I should ask to go on this trip. I could go by where the radio station I used to work and Lotzo's, the bar to which our six person staff used to go.

But, it isn't a radio station and it's not Lotzo's anymore.

Anyway, this isn't about me.

Mead Public Library is offering children in kindergarten through fifth grade the opportunity to join a reading program sponsored by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor league baseball team based in Appleton.

"Fang," the team mascot, will appear at Mead at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4 in the Story Garden to meet fans.

Children who can read independently may sign up for the program at any time before the program ends March 21. Goals are set and children receive incentives from the Timber Rattlers. If a participant reaches all the bases and hits a "home run," he or she will receive a ticket to attend a Timber Rattlers game in April or May and a hot dog and soda voucher.

It's about the kids.

Happy to help out

The website RelocateAmerica.com recently announced their top 100 places to live in the United States. Appleton made the list for 2008. One of the reasons?

For the sports enthusiast, there is cross country skiing, ice skating & hockey, bicycle trails, boating and fishing. The stock racing at Wisconsin International Speedway is always exciting! We are located 25 miles south of Green Bay where the Super Bowl Champion Packers play. The Appleton Timber Rattlers (the Seattle Mariners class "A" minor league farm team) have their own local stadium.

Yup, our own local stadium and everything.

Thanks for the plug

The Timber Rattlers are running a Summer Reading Program through area libraries again in 2008. Instead of me going over it, how about heading over to "Little" Nic Bits.
students entering grades K-5.

- can run anytime from June - August
- four week program, relating to a base (1st, 2nd, 3rd, home)
- you can set your own goals
- The T-Rats will provide the incentives
- For each base a child gets, they receive a prize. When they get a home run, they are awarded a complimentary ticket to a home game.

Follow the link to find out how to register for the program.

Thanks to Jamie for the mention on the post.