The Disabled Score on Their Own Field of Dreams

Springtime means baseball. And baseball means everything to 11-year-old Brandon Philhower of Simi Valley.

“Wait till you see me hit!” Brandon boasted as he and his team, the Brewers, prepared to take the field Saturday in the team’s season opener against the Cubs at Moorpark’s Chaparral Middle School.

Brandon didn’t disappoint. In his first time at bat he smacked a line drive between first and second base for a single as his teammates cheered him on.

“He loves baseball,” said Brandon’s mother, Ellen, who sat on the sidelines watching her son. “If it wasn’t for this team, he might not get to play at all.”

What makes Brandon and all the children who play for the Challenger Division of the Moorpark Little League special is that each has some type of mental or physical disability, such as cerebral palsy or Down’s syndrome.

In Brandon’s case, it is cerebral palsy, which has impaired his motor skills and reflexes.

Ellen Philhower said her son played on a regular Little League team when he was younger. But Brandon’s physical coordination didn’t develop like that of his teammates, and he was unable to keep up.

Then last year, Brandon and his mom heard about the newly formed Challenger Division. It wasn’t long before the youngster was swinging his bat again, like his idol, Jose Canseco of the Oakland A’s.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “Nobody gets made fun of. I think that’s very important.”

Moorpark resident Ken Burns organized the division for kids like Brandon after hearing about a similar program in Texas. Burns and some friends found out more about the program and immediately set out to start their own.

Burns’ son, Tyler, 6, is a shortstop for the Cubs.

Burns and his friends began sending out flyers to schools in Simi Valley and Moorpark, informing parents about the new Little League division. And Burns was able to get his employer, Corroon & Black Insurance Services of Southern California, to provide financial support for team uniforms, equipment and league fees.

He said the Challenger Division originally started out with two teams, with about 20 boys and girls participating. This year there are four teams, with 40 kids. And two more teams have recently formed in Thousand Oaks.

“We’re real pleased,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity for the kids to throw on a uniform and come out and play ball like everyone else.”

Children between the ages of 5 and 18 are eligible for the league, although only four participants are over the age of 12.

The name of the game is fun, Burns said. Everyone gets to play, and no one keeps track of the score.

There is also no pitching. Instead, a special non-injury ball is placed on a rubber tee that can be adjusted to each batter’s height.

Burns said Tyler, who also has cerebral palsy, was reluctant to play last year, but once he started, his attitude changed.

“By the end of the season he was just like everyone else, where he was looking forward to the next game,” Burns said. “All winter he has been bugging me about when we are going to start playing ball again.”

Joshua Halbleib, 5, was the same way, said the youngster’s mother, Terri.

“He couldn’t wait to get going,” she said. “He has an older brother that plays baseball, so this is heaven to him.”

Joshua, who on Saturday was playing center field for the Braves, recently underwent surgery for a hip disorder, his mother said. The youngster, who suffers from a number of physical disabilities, is confined for now to a wheelchair.

His health problems aside, Joshua’s spirit is that of any other 5-year-old boy who loves baseball. This was most evident when his mom rolled him up to home plate when his turn came to bat.

Although he managed to hit the ball just a few feet in front of home plate, it was enough to bring a smile to Joshua’s face and enough to make Terri Halbleib proud.

“Just to see him smiling and to be happy makes me feel good,” Halbleib said. “Everyone’s a winner here.”