masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgPrior to tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Orioles will host a special pre-game ceremony and check presentation to The Miracle League of Manasota. The third annual Birdland Golf Classic, hosted by OriolesREACH on February 20, raised over $40,000 dollars for The Miracle League, which gives children and adults with special needs the opportunity to play baseball. On-field to help present the check will be representatives from the tournament’s top sponsors, including…Prior to tonight’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Orioles will host a special pre-game ceremony and check presentation to The Miracle League of Manasota. The third annual Birdland Golf Classic, hosted by OriolesREACH on February 20, raised over $40,000 dollars for The Miracle League, which gives children and adults with special needs the opportunity to play baseball. On-field to help present the check will be representatives from the tournament’s top sponsors, including BMW of Sarasota, Plan 4 What If and Cooper Creek Dental. Orioles pitcher and Sarasota resident Jim Johnson will represent the Orioles and OriolesREACH.

Since its inception, the Birdland Golf Classic has raised more than $96,000 for the Miracle League of Manasota. For the 14,000 school-aged children with disabilities and their adult counterparts in Sarasota and Manatee counties, a synthetically surfaced baseball field with all the requisite amenities was built last year in Longwood Park, just off University Parkway in Sarasota. Sarasota County committed $500,000 to the capital improvement of Longwood Park, while the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates contributed $150,000 for the field.