PHOTO GALLERY: Miracle League Playground Opens

For most people, raising the funds necessary to build and maintain a baseball field customized for athletes with special needs would be plenty.

But Mauldin's Mayor Dennis Raines, who built such a field with the Mauldin Miracle League wasn't quite satisfied. So, he set out to raise the money for a playground that could accommodate all children. On Saturday, the work paid off. 

At a ceremony in Sunset Park, a few hundred feet from the Miracle League baseball field, the Miracle League Playground was officially opened. Fittingly, the ceremony came after a morning's worth of Miracle Lerague baseball had been completed.

For his efforts, Raines was presented with a baseball bat signed by Miracle League players. The gift also doubled as a birthday present for Raines, who turns 60 today.

However, the best present of all to Raines might have been when one of the children, upon entering the new playground for the first time, exclaimed, "This is the best park ever!"

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