PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Lizzy MacDonald, 34, is no bandwagon jumper. She fell in love with the Phillies during the bleak era of the late 1990s when the team regularly lost more than 90 games a year.
"I was the girl who had the Scott Rolen poster in my bedroom," said the Dover, Delaware native. "Diehard Phillies fan on all spectrums."
No amount of losing, though, could shake her faith in the team – not surprising for someone who was born needing to learn to overcome adversity.
Lizzy, who has a form of dwarfism, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, is 2 feet, 6 inches. She uses a wheelchair and crutches and has had to recover from many surgeries.
"Everything that she's done has been truly amazing," said Lizzy's mother, Beth MacDonald, who credits her fandom with boosting her social life.
"It's something that puts her on a level playing field with average-sized people. And once people see her, if they see a Phillies thing on her wheelchair, men will come up and talk to her and go 'Phillies' and then they realize, 'Oh my gosh,' she's really talking to me and she really knows about it."
Not only can Lizzy talk baseball with the best of them, especially Phillies, but she convinced a former president to pay her a visit.
"It always kind of joke that, yes, she has the leader of the free world at his knees," McDonald said, referencing a photo she treasures.
As a child, Lizzy wanted to meet former President George W. Bush while he was in office. The MacDonalds sent a fax to the White House. Beth didn't have high expectations. Then, one day, while Lizzy was at school, Beth received a phone call that Bush wanted to meet Lizzy when he made a trip to Wilmington.
"And I just couldn't believe it that she even had that power to make that happen," McDonald said.
These days, Lizzy rarely misses a game — rearranging her schedule to watch on TV. She doesn't have many opportunities to go to Citizens Bank Park because she needs a ride.
Lizzy MacDonald with Phandemic Krew.Lizzy MacDonald
But when she does, she hangs out with the well-known supporters group — the Phandemic Krew. During Alumni Weekend this season, fellow members of the Krew brought her around the Hall of Fame Club to meet former Phillies, including some of the greats, like World Champion Manager Charlie Manuel and 1980 NLCS MVP Manny Trillo.
"Lizzy fits in great because she has that passion," said Krew co-founder Brett MacMinn. "She has that drive. She wants to be part of everything Phillies."
An advocate for dwarfism awareness
October is Dwarfism Awareness Month and Lizzy is a vocal advocate.
Her mother says she was the first infant in Delaware to come home on a ventilator with 24-hour nursing care. Beth also said she was the first child with a physical challenge in her school district to go to school with a paraprofessional. She was the first to have a regular bus have a lift on it for her wheelchair. Lizzy and Beth have also spoken at national conferences. Beth says in the past they've worked on behalf of children's health care issues with Medicaid.
And there's more advocacy on the horizon.
Over the summer, Major League Baseball and the Phillies launched a pilot program of a new ticket-taking system at the first base gate called Go-Ahead Entry that is facial recognition. Beth and Lizzy told KYW the scanner doesn't lower to her proper height, so she isn't able to use it.
"If they want to talk to me, let me know. I'll give them my input because I have a lot of input," Lizzy said.
KYW Newsradio reached out to Major League Baseball about Lizzy's concern. An MLB representative associated with the program responded that he'll look into it.
Win for Rhys
Lizzy is feeling good vibes about this playoff run.
Her message to the team is: Win it for Rhys Hoskins who has been out all year recovering from a knee injury. Hoskins is not on the roster for the League Championship Series against the Diamondbacks, but there is a possibility he could return if they advance to the final round.
"Rhys needs to be their motivation," she said. "I think their mentality should be: Let's get there for him."
Whether that happens or not, we know Lizzy will have a positive attitude about the team she has adored for nearly 30 years.
"She amazes me every day with how she gets up and moves through the world and that's her world and we're just in it," her mother said with a laugh.
