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The cathedral of Little League Baseball is in Williamsport, PA, where 20 teams from across the world annually compete in the Little League World Series. Since 2001, Williamsport has also played host to the Little League Challenger Division exhibition game, which features two programs of individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities.

This year, Syracuse Challenger Baseball and Challenger of Lancaster Country Little League junior teams participated in the prestigious game. Additionally, the inaugural Senior Challenger Exhibition Game occurred — allowing more competitive players who are at least 15 years old to play on the field that hosted the original Little League World Series.

“It’s every 12-year-old’s dream, including mine, to make it to this field,” Syracuse Challenger Baseball volunteer coach Mike Newman told the Newhouse Sports Media Center.

Founded in 1982, SCB originally contained six teams of 10 players each. Now, the league has over 250 players across the Junior, Adult and Senior divisions. The Junior (players younger than 15) and Adult (15 and older) divisions play under “typical Challenger rules,” where everyone gets to hit, run the bases and touch the ball in the field across a two-inning game. The Senior division is played more like traditional competitive baseball and lasts around five innings.

Among over 1,000 Little League Challenger Divisions across the world, Syracuse Challenger Baseball is the largest. But SCB originally had trouble expanding. For the first two decades of its existence, the only way for a new player to join a team was if a player aged out when they turned 21 or if someone dropped out. The problem was that nobody ever wanted to leave the league.

Syracuse Challenger Baseball provides over 250 players with special needs and their families with life-changing experiences through baseball. The organization held an honorary event at Carrier Park on Sept. 10 Courtesy of Kevin Romer Photography

In 2000, Dom Cambareri learned about Syracuse Challenger Baseball through a small special needs bowling league his son Domenico was involved in, prompting his interest in the league. Despite Cambareri’s desire, there were no openings until 2001. Domenico debuted in Challenger Baseball at 7 years old and hasn’t left since.

“It was like a whole new world opened up for him and for us,” Cambareri said. “Having a child with a developmental disability like Domenico, there were not a lot of opportunities back in those days for them to have a healthy participation in recreational sports.”

Two years after Domenico joined Syracuse Challenger Baseball, the previous volunteer Executive Director stepped down because their son aged out of the program. The League is a nonprofit run by volunteers, so originally it had trouble finding a new Executive Director.

Cambareri didn’t want to see the organization crumble. He stepped up, serving as the Syracuse Challenger Baseball Executive Director since 2003.

Upon taking over, Cambareri’s first order of business was making Syracuse Challenger Baseball more accessible to new players. In Cambareri’s first three years, SCB nearly tripled in size.

As part of its expansion, SCB created more roster spots in its Junior division. It also created a Senior division in 2007, allowing more advanced adult players older than 21 to continue playing baseball.

One demographic was left out. Players older than 21 who weren’t skilled enough to play in the Senior division and too old to play in the Junior division were ineligible to play Challenger Baseball under Little League rules.

Dee Perkins, SCB’s co-Program Director, shared a similar view to Cambareri. As a result, Perkins helped Syracuse Challenger Baseball petition Little League that the rules were harmful to players who aged out.

In 2015, Perkins’ appeal came to light when Little League approved the creation of the Adult division — allowing players 15 and older to form a new league.

“When we created the Adult league, we said to (Little League) it’s harmful to turn people away at 21,” Perkins said. “There are kids who become adults and no longer have something to do and we’re taking this away from them for no reason, none.”

Syracuse Challenger Baseball’s growth meant there was a lack of available fields for games. Before Cambareri’s time and in his first few years as Executive Director, SCB played at local Little League fields. But if there was a conflict, they were kicked off the fields.

So, in 2006, Cambareri explored ways for the league to have its own fields. Three years later, Cambareri connected with an old friend of his, Ed Michalenko.

Together, Cambareri and Michalenko — who served as the Dewitt Town supervisor — created a plan. They came up with the idea of the Syracuse Challenger Baseball’s Field of Dreams. The project was released to the public in 2012, but SCB needed $5.5 million.

“We didn’t have a nickel, but we had a dream,” Cambareri said.

Fundraising efforts from Jennifer Savastino — SCB’s co-program director alongside Perkins — allowed the league to successfully raise $5.5 million. In 2016, the Challenger Field of Dreams opened in Carrier Park in DeWitt, featuring two state-of-the-art baseball diamonds.

With its own home fields, Syracuse Challenger Baseball’s quality and opportunities have increased. Around Thanksgiving 2022, Cambareri submitted an application for Syracuse Challenger Baseball to play in the Little League Challenger Division Exhibition Game. After reviewing about 25 applications, Little League Senior Director of League Development and the Challenger Division Sam Ranck chose SCB to compete in the Little League Challenger Division Exhibition Game.

“They do a great job of promoting and advocating for challenger athletes in the community,” Ranck said. “And so it made sense to bring them to the game here so they could put on display, really for the world, what they’re doing there locally.”

Among the over 1,000 Little League Challenger Divisions across the world, Syracuse Challenger Baseball is the largest division in the world with over 250 players. Syracuse Challenger Baseball players were honored at the Syracuse Challengers Champions Day on Sept. 10. Courtesy of Kevin Romer Photography

Playing in Williamsport provided the Junior and Senior players an opportunity of a lifetime. In the Senior game, 14-year-old Josh Harris hit a memorable grand slam in the first inning.

“People had expectations of what we had and to blow those expectations away right there in the first inning, oh my god this makes me feel so so good,” Perkins said. “People with special needs can do such amazing things.”

Carrier Park still hosts Syracuse Challenger Baseball. But the organization also hosts games at Mattydale Park since Carrier Park only has two fields. SCB’s dream is to expand Carrier Park to eight baseball fields in a project called the Super Field of Dreams.

This new field would allow everyone who’s a part of Syracuse Challenger Baseball to witness how special the league is. The Super Field of Dreams could begin construction by Spring 2024 if the cutting-edge project can meet its $9-10 million fundraising goal.

“We try to get potential donors to a game because you need to witness the fun and excitement that these individuals put so much effort into activities that we take for granted,” Savastino said. “When you see a player in a wheelchair hitting the ball from coach pitch, it gives you a different perspective.”

If you build it, they will come. When people become immersed in Syracuse Challenger Baseball, they never want to leave. The Super Field of Dreams will only enhance that, organizers said.

“Nobody ever left the program once they found out about it and realized how wonderful it was,” Cambareri said.

Published on September 11, 2023 at 10:26 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon