From the Sidelines: Field of Daydreams
Sports reporter
As I was driving south on Sunflower Road out of town this past weekend, my thoughts started to drift. As I looked toward the open fields on either side of me, a thought occurred to me.
How cool would it be to own some land like this and be able to build a baseball field? Then it hit me, duh, it's already been done in Dyersville, Iowa, and even had a movie made about it.
Still, I drove down the road thinking how cool it would to have a baseball field in my backyard — A field where kids can come and play anytime, without the hassle of city regulations. Of course, there would have to be some structure to when teams could play, but that can be figured out after the construction.
I didn't envision summer-league sponsored teams getting together in their matching uniforms and shiny helmets. Instead, I had a vision of The Sandlot, where the players played for the love of the game, maybe not even keeping score. They wore whatever they had, with the only requirement a glove and a ball.
Of course, those days have passed, even before I was born. Video games, which admittedly I like to play, and air-conditioning, have cut into youngsters play outside.
But still, baseball needs something like this. Basketball courts are as plentiful as wheat in this part of the country, and any yard with trees for endzone markers can constitute a football field.
Baseball players must sign up for a team and use a field only when the park designates it's OK.
My park would be open as long as the field was in decent shape, and there weren't too many bench-clearing brawls. (one every once in a while is part of the game).
Now, of course, there is the maintenance of the field, liability for injuries, and overhead costs.
But when you're driving down the road daydreaming (although still paying attention to the road, of course), those thoughts don't enter your mind.
Maybe if I just build it, they would come.
Nah, that won't work.
