MindsEye Beepball Tournament Begins with Honors Ceremony
By Jason Frazier, Community Outreach Coordinator
On Saturday April 4th, the countdown to MindsEye’s 9th annual Ultimate Beepball Tournament officially begins with the Inaugural Vision for the Game Celebration. At 9:30 a.m. the Infield of Busch Stadium II, the space located between Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium and once occupied by some of the greatest names in baseball history will play host to beepball. This event is free to the public.
MindsEye will honor four individuals who helped spread awareness of athletics to the St. Louis/Metro area’s blind and visually impaired community. The honorees this year are Al Hrabosky of Fox Sports Midwest, Brian Houser of Lighthouse for the Blind, 6th grade student AJ Ashby, and Mickey Warriner of Jacobs Engineering.
The majority of these individuals are being honored for directly contributing to the advancement of beepball in this region. Mickey, Brian, and AJ have helped plan beepball events, coached tournament winning beepball teams, and introduced the game to others.
The love of beepball would not be possible without those who toil in broadcast booths and share their knowledge of baseball. It’s hard to find someone who has done a better job than Al Hrabosky. After a stellar 13 year career pitching in Major League Baseball, he took his talents up to the broadcast booth. His work as the St. Louis Cardinals color commentator for 30 years has helped illustrate baseball for the visually impaired and blind community.
Following a ceremony honoring of these four extraordinary individuals, representatives from teams playing in MindsEye’s Ultimate Beepball Tournament on July 11th, 2015 will play a two inning exhibition beepball game.
What is Beepball: Beepball is a version of softball that is adapted for people who are blind and visually impaired people. It features a beeping ball and two buzzing bases along with slight rules modifications. All players play with blindfolds except for the pitcher and catcher on the offensive team and two spotters on the defensive team.
About MindsEye: Established in 1973, MindsEye is a free broadcast service for people who are blind and print impaired that features volunteers reading daily newspapers, magazines, TV listings, grocery store specials and even sports scores. MindsEye is nonprofit organization that relies on work from over 200 volunteers to serve over 11,000 listeners in the St. Louis metro east area within a 75 mile radius. MindsEye is a proud United Way agency. More information at www.mindseyeradio.org.