Baseball for the Blind set for growth in U.S.

Baseball for the Blind set for growth in U.S.
18/10/2021
The NY Lions Blind Baseball Team recently played the Connecticut Chargers, a sighted team whose players were blindfolded.

Baseball for the Blind arrived in Connecticut this past Saturday with the first-ever game between the NY Lions Blind Baseball Team and the Connecticut Chargers, a sighted team whose players were blindfolded.

The game took place in Franklin, Connecticut, and the Lions, managed by former Italy National Team coach Don Landolphi, beat the Chargers, 2-1. More than 200 people showed up at Franklin Senior League Field to watch the game. 

"The Chargers are well trained, talented, and provided great competition for us," the Lions tweeted.

The Lions squad (which represents the Lions Clubs International) was formed with a mission to motivate the blind and visually impaired community to play baseball. With the support Italian blind baseball body AIBXC (a WBSC Associated Member), they are looking to establish more teams in the United States and within Lions Clubs International. Long-term objectives of the discipline include the Paralympics. 

With more and more coordinated efforts on the ground in the US, the Lions Clubs expect to launch more blind-baseball teams next year in the counties of Suffolk and Nassau, as well as upstate New York in Albany/Saratoga Springs. 

Photo: NY Lions Blind Baseball