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White Sox treat low-vision teens to sensory-friendly tour of Rate Field

White Sox offer tactile tour of Rate Field for low-vision teens
White Sox offer tactile tour of Rate Field for low-vision teens 02:18

The Chicago White Sox welcomed a special group of campers to Rate Field Thursday morning.

The visually impaired teenagers got a hands-on, sensory-friendly tour of the ballpark. They got to experience both the feel and a whiff of the dugout, tar, the rosin bags pitchers hold in their hands.

Maria Villanueva of the White Sox guest services team led the tactile tour.

Teens like Katelyn Kaechele, 17, were pleased to take part.

"We all have different levels of vision," Katelyn said. "Like, I have my central. One of the girls here is completely blind, so she uses a cane, and we all help each other in a way."

The kids are part of a low-vision day camp from the Spectrios Institute, funded by the White Sox.

"Our camp is actually named after Grandma Martyl, who is the late wife of Jerry Reinsdorf," said Jennifer Thompson of the .

The camp teams up with the Sox to give every kid a chance to swing for the fences and run the bases — just like the pros.

The Sox are pleased to help the campers experience the ballpark.

"It's something everybody's able to do," said Villanueva.

"Like even the ones that went all around the bases, I'm like, 'Look at you! Like coming out of your shell,'" said Thompson. "It's just a great experience for them."

Even when the Sox are away — as they presently are, preparing to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday — their home field can still offer advantage.

"I would say exhilarating. It's fun," said Katelyn. "It's like, not a lot of people get to do this."

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