Lakeville Man Selected To Play In Miracle League All-Star Game

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – When you meet Jordan King, it doesn't take long before you say to yourself, 'whatever makes this guy so happy? I need more of that.'

For Jordan, that thing is baseball.

"I do play pitcher and catcher," King said.

Jordan is 24 and has Down Syndrome. He participates in the South Metro Miracle League in Lakeville. And this weekend will play in the Miracle League All-Star Game, which brings in more than 100 players from 23 different states --- and even Cancun.

One player is selected from each community that has a Miracle League.

"And so the director gets to come in and say, hey, this player is the one that gets to go. And so it's a huge honor," Jill Moore explained. "This is something where he's representing this community, this Miracle League, this town, part of Minnesota."

Moore is a coach for the Miracle League and also works at Landscape Structures, the Delano-based company builds inclusive playgrounds next to Miracle League fields.

For her, it's personal. Born with spina bifida, she knows firsthand the importance of an opportunity like this.

And Moore's headed to Iowa too.

"People enter in this game and they wanna learn about inclusive play," Moore said. "And so that's kind of my role, is just starting that conversation, what it means for people like me with a disability and to be invited to a community and say, you can come play, you are welcome."

Nobody will make you feel more welcome than Jordan. His enthusiasm and advocacy are big reasons he was chosen.

"He's worked with some of the Twins Hall of Famers. They were telling me a story about how he met a lot of the Hall of Famers and he didn't ask for their autograph, he autographed their hat and handed it back," Moore said. "So he's very passionate about what he's doing, and the perfect advocate for that."

And he's excited to bring that to Iowa.

"And we got baseball trophies," Jordan said.

The South Metro Miracle League started in 2009 and added the inclusive playground in 2014.

They're currently adding an accessible putt-putt golf course. Landscape Structures also build the playground in Sioux City.