 North County Times By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer They are crammed into neighborhoods, they sit alongside subway tracks and have cool names like The Green Monster, Monument Park and Bleacher Bums. No sport has a love affair with its home field like baseball. Fans trek across the country to pay homage to cathedrals like Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. The cookie-cutter stadiums of the 1960s -- Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta -- have been replaced by retro parks. High school baseball diamonds, like their big-league counterparts, must also conform to space requirements. In North County, they range from Rancho Buena Vista High's 485-foot center field fence where a "You're Dreaming" sign hangs in place of the distance, to Fallbrook, Ramona and Army-Navy where, because of space restrictions, it's barely 300 feet down the lines and you have to watch out for oncoming trains. North County's fields range from the pristine -- Poway -- to the, well, not so pristine -- Oceanside. "We've done a lot to our field -- put up a 25-foot high fence in left field, put 40 feet of netting to catch foul balls, added a nce banner -- but I think Poway still sets the standard," said El Camino coach Joe Gonzalez. "It has a little of everything that makes for a great place to play." Over the past decade, the city of Poway has added lights, ballpark-type seating, a press box, restrooms and a top-notch snack bar to its baseball field. An old, rickety scoreboard, which was in dead center field in the eye of the hitters, was replaced by a large electronic scoreboard and moved to right-center field. Mike Tarantino, who is in charge of facilities in the Poway district, has someone assigned to each of the district's four high school campuses -- Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Mt. Carmel and Westview. All have above-average baseball fields.
Poway, however, is clearly the best. The playing surface, under the direction of Titans groundskeeper Mark Haines and his staff, rivals what Carlsbad's was just a few years ago when not a blade of grass was out of place on an immaculate infield. There is only so much the district can do, however. The Poway boosters have added batting cages and a team room. And there are long-range plans to expand the team rooms and maybe even add a two-story baseball building. While Poway has the best field, Escondido High is the most improved. The Cougars' field was once a grazing pasture for the agriculture department, which is located behind center field. Escondido coach Steve Afenir has spearheaded a revival that has seen major improvements to the playing surface, dugouts and backstop. Afenir got help from Ralph Cripe, who was responsible for Carlsbad's field until a falling out in 2001. The Men's Senior Baseball League and Doug Johnson, who runs the league, have been instrumental in providing expertise, money and manpower at Escondido. "Next up for us, is to finish the outside of the park," said Afenir, who can't do anything about the barnyard smells that emanate from the agriculture department. "We have to upgrade the seating, add a press box, concession stands and bathrooms. "We want our facility to rival the best in the county. We want to host CIF playoff games, the Lions Tournament championships." Cripe said the best infields are a combination of hybrid Bermuda grass. He gets a lot of his best grass from AM-Sod, a farm near the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. While Cripe has lent a hand at Oceanside High, there is only so much he can do. That's because with extensive building at the school, construction vehicles parked on playing fields. That forced the football team and soccer teams to practice on the baseball outfield. As a result, there is less grass in the outfield than on Interstate 5, which runs behind right field, and craters the size of ex-Padres manager Bruce Bochy's size 8 3/4-inch head. "But we've done a lot of other good things," Oceanside coach Dave Barrett said. "We've improved the dugouts. We've added what will be a clubhouse when all the construction is done. We've improved our batting cages. "With the help of Ralph Cripe and the end of the construction on campus, our playing surface will be fine next season." Fallbrook High, aka The Launching Pad, is among the most unique parks in the county. The fence is 310 feet down the lines and maybe 330 to center. But there is a 20-foot high fence ringing the outfield. "Balls fly out there, but it could be because Fallbrook has been pretty darn good over the years," Barrett said. Still, the playing surface at Fallbrook and the seating are top notch. "Everyone says our ballpark is small," said Fallbrook coach Matt Parker, "but I'll bet you could fit Ramona's field inside ours -- and they have a five-foot fence in the outfield." And the winds blow a gale straight out to right field at Ramona. Ramona coach Dean Welch said his field is 301 down the lines and maybe 350 to center. Many would like to implode the field and its decaying bleachers, and they may get their wish. There are plans for new baseball and softball fields. That, however, is at least a year away because of numerous delays, and the school isn't inclined to improve the situation in the interim. "It makes no sense for us to pour a ton of work into our field when a new one is on the horizon," Welch said. "Obviously, we want our players to have a great place to play, but that's down the road a ways." Speaking of roads, the center-field fence at Rancho Buena Vista is a road trip -- 485 feet from home plate, by far the deepest in any North County ballpark. Longtime RBV assistant coach Jason Schmeiser, who also played at the school, said only three players -- Eric Chavez of Mt. Carmel, Jaime Jones of Rancho Bernardo and John Robers of RBV -- have cleared the 485-foot mark. Chavez, the Oakland A's third baseman, and Jones were both first-round major-league draft picks. El Camino and Army-Navy haven't produced any big-league players. And while neither school blames the playing field for that, the Wildcats and Warriors have two very unique parks. Until recently, a ball hit over the first of two fences and to the left of a tree was a double at El Camino. Clear two fences -- the second on top of a steep bank -- reach the student parking lot, and you had a homer. But a 25-foot high fence in left has taken the tree line out of play. At Army-Navy, the Warriors share the baseball field with everyone else on campus -- football, soccer and physical education classes. And there is very little room in right. A ball hit to right field that clears the first of two fences -- protecting the fielder from oncoming locomotives -- is a double. Hit a ball over the railroad tracks and a second fence, and you have a home run. Legend has it Stewart Smothers, who later signed with the Atlanta Braves, hit the longest home run in the history of high school baseball while at Army-Navy. He hit a ball that cleared the first fence in right and landed on a north-bound Amtrak train, ending up 185 miles away in Santa Barbara before it was discovered. -- Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com. Five best North County baseball fields 1. Poway: The best ballpark in the county -- the best surface, best lights, best seating and best concession stand. 2. Rancho Bernardo: A great playing surface. It could be more fan friendly. 3. La Costa Canyon: A great place to watch a game; played on a top-notch surface. 4. Rancho Buena Vista: All around, just a nice place to see a game. 5. Escondido: For the players, the field is great. Once a seating project is completed, it could compete with Poway for No. 1. Top North County baseball fields by league: VALLEY LEAGUE 1. Escondido: Most improved playing field in North County. New dugouts and clubhouse. Seating, restrooms and concession stand would make it great. 2. Valley Center: Nice all-around facility with a good infield surface. 3. Mission Hills: Not great, but a good high school facility. 4. San Pasqual: Improved, but still needs work. 5. San Marcos: Small, but a nice ballpark. 6. Ramona: Very small park that, hopefully, is a year away from being replaced. Wind blows a gale to right field. 7. Orange Glen: New wind screens help, but it's still a dust bowl. Plus, the visiting dugout is cement block and faces the setting sun. So the visitors feel like they're baking in an adobe oven. PALOMAR LEAGUE 1. Poway: The pearl of the North County. 2. Rancho Bernardo: Great playing surface, dugouts and clubhouse. A concession stand and restrooms would complete the job. 3. La Costa Canyon: First-class facility. Barely a notch below Poway and RB. 4. Westview: Good all-around facility with a nice playing surface. More seating, concession stand and restrooms would help. Look out for rattlesnakes. 5. Mt. Carmel: Great setting, and a very decent place to play. But the wind blows in, so it's a graveyard for fly ball hitters. 6. Torrey Pines: Infield looks like aÝ monster truck pull was held on it. Seating is fine with good dugouts and clubhouse. AVOCADO LEAGUE 1. Rancho Buena Vista: A fine facility with a good playing surface, dugouts, seating and concessions. The center-field fence is 485-feet from homeplate -- the deepest of any North County park -- and features a sign that says "Your Dreaming" instead of the actual distance. 2. Vista: Like cross-town rival RBV, a fine facility and playing surface. But it's a monster walk up a long flight of stairs to the field. 3. Fallbrook: Great playing surface and good seating, but it's a small ballpark. 4. Carlsbad: Once the best facility in the county. Still nice, with new flower beds and other amenities, but playing surface isn't what it once was. 5. El Camino: Improved with new screens, but portable outfield fences detract. 6. Oceanside: A lot of good things are happening -- new batting cages, locker rooms and dugouts. But because of construction at the school, the outfield looks like Camp Pendelton Marines use it for mortar practice. Once or twice a year, games are delayed as fog rolls through. OTHERS (in alphabetical order) Army-Navy: One field on campus serves everyone -- football, baseball, soccer and P.E. classes. And the surface reflects it. Calvin Christian: A nice on-campus facility for a small school. Cathedral Catholic: A very nice overall facility with a good playing surface. Be prepared for a hike from the parking lot. San Dieguito Academy: A nice ballpark in a good setting. Santa Fe Christian: Artificial turf infield and outfield makes for a funky place to play. Tri-City Christian: Plays at MiraCosta College. Once it was a great facility, now it's only OK. QUIRKY PARKS Army-Navy: A fly ball to right that clears the first of two fences is a double. A fly ball to right that clears the first fence and the railroad tracks is a home run. Santa Fe Christian: The entire field -- except to the pitcher's mound and batter's box -- is artificial turf. Yes, that means brown turf where the infield dirt should be. Ramona: The smallest park in the North County -- 301 down the lines, maybe 350 to center. And the wind blows straight out to right. Fallbrook: A small park -- 310 down the lines, maybe 330 to center. But there is a 20-foot fence around the outfield, so some would-be homers are held to singles and some fly balls are homers. Oceanside: With Mission Avenue behind the left-field fence and on-ramp to southbound I-5 behind right, cars get a great view of the action. Small park with the wind blowing off the ocean out to right with high fences all around.
|
