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About Little Ebbets Field, the owner and the motivation. I our previous home we had a make shift field in the back yard. We poured in a hundred yards of fill/loam and clay. In the end we would of need 500 more and still I don't think that home would ever provide the true field we were looking for. It was cool, but it was slopped down hill, we had a deck in the way, various tree's and the homers to right field went into a retaining pond which was pretty messy.
So in the Summer of 2007 we decided to look for a new home and the home had to have the land so we could build a field. Not just some bases and a wire fence a true field. After looking at 42 homes we finally found one that worked inside and out.
After allot of debate with myself, I found the right spot facing the right direction at the front of the property. Let the fun begin.
Why Wiffle Ball? The simple explanation is Wiffle Ball is a great equalizer. Kids from 13 to 60 can play this game. Seeing I am closer to 60 then 13 the game made sense. I played of course when I was a kid. I cant say a swung a Wiffle Ball Bat more then a dozen times between 1990 and 2004. Then the kids started playing so we/I started getting into it again. Playing softball I found the injuries came running the base's so Wiffle Ball does not require running base's so it was a perfect match.
As we/I got more into it I found out there are allot of different bats, balls and various equipment you can buy now. Pretty much we bought them all as we found them and tested them all. Loco Bats, Moonshot Bats, Easton Bats, Louisville Sluggers, Cramer bats, Foam Bats even metal bats. Then we started adjusting the bats adding grips, tape, dowels, socks, foam and all type of stuff.
Then we discovered Wiffle Ball was not the only plastic ball. We found Poly Balls, Hard Plastic Training Balls, Solid Easton and Wiffle Balls. So we bought them and tried them all. In the end the Wiffle Ball remains the best. Mainly because it is the safest and ball a pitcher can make dance. However, it does not work in a pitching machine to good.
Ah, pitching machines. So you get out there and your 14 year old nephew takes the hill. You say I can hit this kid, he is just a kid. Then bang a 60 MPH pitch the starts out 6 feet outside the zone and brakes over the plate called a knuckle curve strikes you out. Then you discover maybe 2 of the 20 people who play can pitch. Very unfair. So we went to pitching machines and it balanced the game. It became more about fielding and hitting. Pitching sounds good until you realize you cant control the ball and the other guy can hit the K box at will. So we searched out a dozen machines bought them and some didn't work to good others did.
If you want to find out how each product works email me, I can tell you what to buy, what to stay away from and how things work. Right down to how far the balls travel.
So when I approached my new neighbor whom we kinda share a front yard with about my project he was more then willing to help me out. You really never know how people are going to react. He seemed very excited about it which was very cool. So he went ahead and leveled the ground for me as he is a excavator. After he did his thing I went to work.
250 Bags of concrete, over 50 4x4 posts, 50 sheets of plywood, 40 sheets T-11, and 50 pounds of screws and nails later and a few months of work and here we are.
Why Ebbets Field?
The plan of course was to build a Fenway. But somehow building a 15 foot solid wall on the property was not so appealing. Then I realized allot of people built a fenway. The best one is in Vermont, Pat O'Conner in Jehiro and what he uses his field for is a inspiration. WWW.littlefenway.com. So what is the next most famous, Wrigley maybe? Well I am not a Cub's fan. The Ebbets Field? The Dodgers whom I won several Strat-o-Matic World Series with, Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, a band box field with real history. A Funky design and so much more.
So we researched the field, online and with the help of my friends at the Baseball Hall of Fame, thank you Jason and Dale. We created a 13 foot high Wall which is over half mesh. 75 feet down right field line, 101 to Right Center, then there is a funky triangle. It is 87 feet down left field line then 98 feet to left center. It darts in to 94 feet then back to 101. We have a manual scoreboard just like Ebbets.
Ad's on the Wall:
There are none yet. However there will be. If you wish to find out more email me.
The Dream:
The Dream was to create the field with its future use to be determined. A place where people can enjoy the atmosphere and the game. As James Earl Jones said, a place where memories run so deep they will think they dipped themselves in magic waters. It reminds all of us what was good and can be good again.
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