Backyard Ball Field in Wis. Teaches Kids about More than Baseball – KSTP.com

All summer long there will be pick-up baseball games going on in 9-year-old Tanner Feyereisen’s backyard in Hammond, Wisconsin.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS was invited to the family’s opening day ceremony, for which practically the entire neighborhood gathers. Meanwhile, the kids play for something bigger than just baseball.

It all started with 9-year-old Tanner Feyereisen. 

Tanner was born with cerebral palsy and other health complications. He’s had 26 different sets of leg casts and eight surgeries at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. When he was five, spinal chord surgery kept him in a wheelchair for most of the summer. His father, Nick Feyereisen, built him a baseball diamond in the backyard so he could still play ball with his brothers.

“That’s where the idea was born, so he could play baseball in a wheelchair with his brother,” Tanner’s mother, Leah Feyereisen, said. “Baseball is in their blood.”

“He just wanted to fit in and do what everybody else does…and that’s play sports and be a regular kid,” Nick said.

Over the years, TCP Field has grown and so has its purpose. The field has sponsorships, real bases and chalk lines. And on opening day, it even has a professional announcer. Jim Cunningham, with the Minnesota Twins, calls the game.

“How could you not love this? This feels like America in 1953, with these kids having fun, no arguing, no fighting,” Cunningham said.

“It’s like the neighborhood sandlot and I couldn’t be more honored to be the mother hen of it all,” Leah said.

There is one condition to play at Tanner’s house: be kind. It’s even spelled out on a homemade sign that hangs on the fence. No bullying, no foul play. 

Leah says that became her rule at the field, and it became her mission in life when she saw Tanner struggle with feeling different.

“We have dealt with the emotional side of his health issues, feeling like you don’t fit in, so we have tried to turn that around,” Leah said. “Baseball in it’s nature is inclusive.”

Tanner says the field is a safe place for kids who want to join the game.

“They know they are not going to be bullied and they are not going to feel sad,” he said.