Experience with Baseball Field Construction

Baseball field is out for season
By Michael Verseckes/ mverseck@cnc.com
Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Even before the first at bat, the new baseball field has already been called out on strikes: drainage, grade level, and location.

The new Weymouth High School varsity baseball field has been deemed unusable for the season by school officials, who surveyed it and found problems with drainage and its grade level.

The field is surrounded by a chain-link fence, and the right and left field foul lines run along the perimeter of adjacent conservation land, which, along with an undersized backstop, became an instant problem for foul balls.

A nearby drainage ditch has already caused one injury.

Superintendent of Schools Joseph Rull said that he and other officials, along with an associate from a landscape architecture firm involved in the design, Larson Associates of Arlington, inspected the field.

"We were not pleased with the condition," he said. "There were issues with drainage and the leveling of the field. We came to the consensus that the field should not be used this season."

In the meantime, Rull said, "We're waiting for the surveying report to determine the extent of what the remedy will be to correct these problems."

While awaiting the report, Rull said that the baseball team has been using other fields in town to hold games and practices.

"The field situation is still being determined," Athletic Director Robert Donovan said. "There is clearly a drainage problem. The specs for drainage made during the surveying process appear to be off. The infield is also lower than home plate. We just can't accept this surveying on this field."

Donovan said that a meeting between the school and TLT Construction Corporation (the general contractor) was held last Tuesday.

"We're trying to put them on the fast track toward remedying the situation," Donovan said. "If somebody screwed up, somebody should fix it."

Because of current field conditions, the baseball team played its Saturday game against Hingham at Libby Field, where they had played in previous seasons.

TLT Construction Corporation issued a statement that read, "We have been made aware that there may be some grading issues on the varsity baseball field. The landscape architect is currently reviewing its design of the field. There will be further discussions this week to develop an action plan to remedy the situation. TLT has offered full cooperation to bring this to an expeditious resolution."

David Warner of Larson Associates acknowledged that there are issues with elevation and drainage which went unnoticed until recently.

"When the contractor was completing the installation of the field in the spring, certain discrepancies in the design appeared," he said. "Those conditions are being surveyed to determine what, if any, measures will be taken."

Warner said that he was expecting the results of the survey by the middle of this week to see what steps would be necessary.

As the high school building project nears completion, several parents expressed concern about the condition of the new field and the timing with the beginning of the baseball season.

"After all that time, effort, and money, it's a sad state of affairs that it can't be used," Kenneth Luciani said. "The kids were looking forward to using it. The way the field was designed, it was like it was an afterthought or just half thought out."

Luciani, like other parents, said that he was puzzled by the infield's positioning and proximity to wetlands.

With little room for players and spectators, Luciani also said, foul balls were prone to land in the conservation area, where they could not be retrieved.

"It's just too bad," he said. "All that time and money."

Lance Magnell said that after just a few practices, the problems on the field were clear.

"The mound wasn't ready, and there were dips in the outfield," he said. "In one practice, I think they lost about 17 balls that went into the conservation land."

Al Kelleher, whose son plays on the junior varsity team, said that many people involved with baseball around town had asked to be involved with the design of the new field.

"Now the kids are going to lose the whole season," he said. "So now who's going to pay for it, and is it going to be done the right way?"

Kelleher said that if local baseball experts had been brought in on the design, they wouldn't have agreed to position the infield against the adjacent conservation land.

"Where home plate is located, foul balls go over the fences on either side and into wetlands where the kids cannot retrieve them," he said.

On the street side, Kelleher said, center field bends in, shortening the length of the outfield, which makes the entire field resemble the shape of a heart.

"Now it's just a mess, not to mention a waste of our money as taxpayers," he said.

Kathleen Walsh, whose son Joe plays on the varsity team, said, "I'm really disappointed that a brand new high school can't have its field ready. It feels like they didn't consider the baseball team at all in this whole building process. We were just a low priority."

Walsh said that she and other parents knew that something was wrong with the field the first time they saw it.

"The field layout was just awful," she said. "It was obvious that all the foul balls were going to land in swamp land. Home plate was stuck in a corner with almost no room for spectators. It would have been nice to have some lights, too. The whole thing is just a bummer for all the kids, especially the seniors."

Sports editor Robert Slager contributed to this story.
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