The tournament, hosted by the regular New York Mets, the Wheelchair Sports Federation, and the New York City Parks Department, is located at the very large parking lot of Citi Field in Queens that was created last year through the demolition of Shea stadium. Three asphalt fields have been cordoned off and marked out where the rolling players will battle it out for the National Championship title.
The home plate of the championship field is the exact location where Shea Stadium home plate used to be, according to Danielle Parillo, the METS director of Communications.
“They are rolling where so many great Mets players have played in the past,” Parillo said.
Ten years ago, Mets baseball got involved by sponsoring a Queens wheelchair softball team. Other major league organizations have also created other namesake teams, like the New York Yankees, Rollin Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays.
The Mets softball team has been running their own regional major league sponsored softball tournament for nine years. This year, as a marker of their 10-year anniversary, as well as in honor of the new stadium, the Mets were chosen to host the National Championships.
Parillo said they needed a venue big enough for three fields.
Many of the teams are from the Midwest, where national tournaments have been held in the past due to the popularity of the game there. Teams will compete for the Division I and Division II National Championship in a double-elimination tournament format.
“I think it is a beautiful opportunity to showcase New York, to showcase the city for these Midwestern boys,” said Jim Leatherman, a 20-year veteran of wheelchair and adaptive sports, who lost his legs in a train accident when he was just 6.
Adaptive Sports
Adaptive sports refers to the process of modifying existing rules to suit disabled players’ needs.
For softball, referees have to allow the game to be played on asphalt, and the bases are shorter—50 feet, rather than 90. Adaptive sports games at the tournament level use the same referees as able-bodied sports.
Other sports played by paralyzed, partially paralyzed, or amputated persons include basketball, sled hockey, tennis, and rowing.
Many of the 300 players participating in the tournament are either paralympians or war veterans.
Mets softball player Eddie Lopez was on a United States Aircraft carrier in the 1980s, working on flight operations in Africa when he had his accident, resulting in the loss of his leg at age 19.
It took him seven years to discover wheelchair sports. He said a lot of rehab centers have programs to attract accident victim to sports, and with the help of the Wheelchair Sports Federation, they visit schools and educate children about sports.
“In today’s world, a lot of these kids, especially these kids coming home from the service, I believe the best medicine for these kids, and for anybody that is newly injured, or anybody that has been disabled for a long time is recreation,” said Leatherman.
On Thursday, the New York Yankees suffered a 28-1 loss to the Columbus Pioneers. The New York Mets, after an initial win, lost 21-6 against the three-year national titleholders, the Nebraska Barons.
Many onlookers consoled themselves by saying they were still impressed with the Mets’s ability to hold their own.
“We are stressing our game against theirs and we are making them think about it and showing that the Mets still represent,” said Lopez.
The teams still have at least two games each left to play.
