The Big Race

What might be even worse, if not more disheartening, is to have the fields but watch them fall into total disrepair.

Here in Sacramento, there are many, many fields in the older neighborhoods like that. Not too long ago, within the last 25 years, those fields were used to the max by great leagues. Those fields and leagues turned out a great many ballplayers, many of whom went on to have great success in the ML.

But now those fields are in neighborhoods where "those people" live. You know the ones. All they do is rob stores, do drugs and shoot people.

All of the "good people" like us have move to the "burbs" and are trying to cram 10,000 kids onto 100 fields every week, beating them to death, while those wonderful old fields go to Hell in a handbasket from lack of care and use.

It isn't like the city doesn't mow them, but that "special" care a band of parents with rakes, shovels and mowers who really take pride in their field would give it, is missing.

While those areas used to be extremely strong LL areas and could still be because the kids are there, its really tough for a lot of those families to dig up the $65 to register, let alone buy even a cheap bat, ball, glove and cleats at K-Mart!

Our district has tried to supplement the leagues in those areas, but with the costs of running a program today, there just isn't enough money to go around. And where the leagues used to easily get sponsors, there are so many kids programs hitting the sponsors for money, they just can't support them all.

This isn't a knock on tournament teams, but the players who's parents really want to see their kid play will get them on a "select" or tournament team and then hit those same sponsors up for money to support that team. The support money supply is drying up and more and more teams are trying to get it every year.

So, the kid in the city who used to get on a LL team and play for 3 or 4 years has to be satisfied with what few pick up games he can find or do something like rob stores, do drugs and shoot people!

One of the saddest things you've ever seen is the field where Dusty Baker played when he was a kid. His folks still live here and Dusty comes back often. He does a heck of a lot of baseball camps and gets a lot of kids into them for free or at greatly reduced prices. He pumps a lot of money and effort into the area, but the problem is just too huge and there aren't enough guys like him. BTW, I give him a lot of respect and admiration.

Greg Vaughn lives in the area too and his son is 2 years younger than mine. Over the years, my son has played against his a few times and as it happens, his daughter goes to the same gym mine does, so we've had a chance to talk on several occasions. He too pumps money into the local baseball programs, puts on clinics, can be counted on to show up at a tournament for publicity, etc.. Bob Oliver, Leon and Leron Lee and a bunch of others really do more than their fair share, but it just isn't enough!

The demands of baseball far exceed the supply those willing to pay for it are able to provide for the average kid. The kids who's parents can afford all the advantages, turn more and more away from rec ball which was the supplier of all the talent in the past.

The problem really got through to me when one of my son's teams went to one of those old fields and it happened to be one where one of my friends, another dad with a son on the team played when he was growing up. He hadn't been back there for several years and when he saw the burned out infield, weeds growing in the base paths and bleachers and everything else falling apart, he just sat there and cried. It was truly one of the saddest things I ever saw in my life having to do with baseball.