With spring sports season just around the corner and the baseball diamond not in the best conditions, there are questions about what can be done to improve what’s considered one of the worst fields in the league.
Is the field going to be renovated? When will it be fixed? There are about four months until the season starts and the field is in desperate need of some help.
The infield grass has lots of chewed up, spotty pieces of grass that create an undesirable field of play. At times, the infield grass is so thick a ball that’s not hit very well will completely stop in the grass.
In the outfield, an uneven and hilly terrain in center field makes it difficult to play the position. There is even a pothole half the size of home plate in center that creates an additional hazard.
Varsity head coach Dan Ward said that he was in extensive talks with last year’s athletic director Chris deClercq about renovating the field. He said there were even plans to put these renovations into motion this fall, but they fell through when deClercq took the same position at San Ramon Valley High at the end of last school year.
These plans included new dugouts, press box, backstop, netting down the left line and from left to center fields, and turf infield.
But new athletic director Chad Ross has no knowledge of any work in the plans for the baseball and softball fields. Ward said field plans are now back to square one.
Despite this, Ward said the patchy infield will be renovated this month and be ready for tryouts in February.
Sophomore catcher Dane Wallace said that he thinks that the field should be renovated, especially the hill in center field.
Sophomore second baseman Grayden Wright said atop his wish list is new lights which would allow for later practices and games.
“I enjoy playing on the field how it is, but I would like to see it renovated in the near future,” sophomore first baseman Logan Kellogg said. “Like maybe turf would be nice. [The] dirt and grass is good when it is kept well.”
Kellogg also mentioned fixing the “hump” in center field.
During the season, it takes a lot of equipment and time to keep the field in a desirable condition to play. Before all home games, parents would often spend 15-30 minutes prepping the field.
“Players, coaches and even parents had to maintain the field before and after games,” Wright said.
Renovations to the field would be very exciting for a program that has experienced a lot of success over the years. Cal has gone 46-13 overall, 17-7 in league, since 2020.