For years children in the Boston area with various physical and intellectual disabilities were being excluded from participating in America’s favorite pastime. Ten years ago, Brendan McDonough decided the same would not be said for his seven-year-old daughter, Sophia. Thus, the Martin Richard Challenger Division of Savin Hill Little League was born.

“[Challengers] started because I had young boys at the time and they were all playing baseball and my daughter was going to all their Little League games and she came home one day and said she wanted to play baseball,” explained McDonough, a father of four.

Video by Connor Nee

At first, McDonough, who lives in Savin Hill, assumed Sophia wanted to play wiffle ball outside. Once she asked for a hat and shirt like her brothers, he knew she didn’t just want a uniform but rather a team to play on.

Luckily for Sophia, her Dorchester-raised father would do anything for his little girl. “We ended up getting about 8 or 9 kids together and started our own little challenger baseball clinic,” McDonough said.

The Challengers Division allows children and young adults to enjoy the benefits of the Little League while being in an environment that is structured to their abilities. And it was in this environment that a small group of neighborhood kids quickly grew to 60 players.

Ten years later, the athletes are split into two divisions and amongst three teams. The Youth Division is primarily composed of kids under 12 all of whom play on the Astros or the Angels, while the Senior Division team, the Red Sox, has a roster of athletes 13 and up.

The 2024 season began in May and will end this Sunday, June 23. For the past month and a half, the athletes have joined coaches and buddies at the Richard “Dick” Finnigan Field in McConnell Park.

“The buddies quite frankly make it happen. Without the buddies, you wouldn’t have a league,” McDonough told the Reporter. “We have an ever-green pool of buddies through Dorchester Little League, local schools, and parents in the community.”

Every Sunday the buddies arrive at the field around 11 a.m. to start working with the athletes in the youth division. “For the little kids, some kids hit off the tee, other kids can hit the ball pitched to them by the coach,” McDonough said. “The buddy usually starts with them at home plate and assesses what they need and then once they make contact with the ball the buddies take it from there and get them from first, second, third, and home.”

When it comes to the Senior Division, things are a little different. Instead of just helping the athletes, the buddies often compete against them.

“We’ve had kids in the program for over ten years,” McDonough proudly stated. “The first time they got up to bat they ran to third base and now they’re playing baseball. They know the whole game.”

One of these ten-year veterans is McDonough’s daughter, Sophia, who now plays in the Senior Division. Although seeing Sophia’s smiles and success means the world to McDonough, he is just as excited for the rest of the athletes. The league founder and coach admitted that the best part of the program is seeing the players’ faces when they get their first jersey or their first hit.

“It's really about inclusion,” said McDonough. “For the players, it's about being on a team and wearing a uniform. Taking on the challenge of hitting a baseball, when they may be dealing with a disability, that they would have thought they would never be able to do. It's about learning a game that they can follow for the rest of their lives and it's about making friendships.”