Field of Dreams

By Britney Wager

CLIFTON PARK – Thinking of baseball, most people wouldn’t think of the field preparation necessary and the work that goes into the baseball diamond immediately. It’s the actual game that comes to mind, not what needs to be done before the game can be held on America’s most precious diamonds across the nation.

The 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth World Series is a huge effort which brings the community, out of town teams and their families to the fields at the Clifton Park Upper Baseball quad to see the best teams in the nation compete for the World Series title.

“People donate their time and expertise,” said John Lewyckyj, part of the field maintenance crew for the World Series. “It really is a community effort.”

The Babe Ruth World Series, which has generous sponsors including the Town of Clifton Park, Saratoga County as well as Price Chopper and Congressman John Sweeney, made the field improvements to the World Series field possible.

The field volunteers are mostly fathers, taking time to maintain the World Series field, preparing it for play this week in Clifton Park. Most of the volunteers have sons who have played on the field, before and after the improvements. 

The father’s work on the field between each game of the World Series, scheduled for four games per day for the first five days of the national tournament. 

The field maintenance staff consists of four people on the field and three people off the field. Pre-maintenance of the field involves the grass being cut to approximately 1 to 1-1/2 inches, properly watered with a sprinkler system to keep it healthy, adding fertilizer, and maintaining the newly added infield surface installed by Saratoga Sod.

The infield contains clay and has a special pro infield mix of soil. The outside of the field of play, often called a warning track near the fence, is covered with crushed brick.

“The field got wet and we wanted to put it into proper condition,” Lewyckyj said. “When it rains, conditioner is put down on the field to help soak up the water, helping the field to dry faster.”

Depending on the weather and field conditions, if the field permits it the staff quickly works on the field in-between innings.

Not only does the World Series field have to meet certain field conditions to be playable for the national championship, but care was taken to ensure that it was perfect.

Prior to the addition of the new infield surface, the existing infield had to be cut out, removed. The surface was then leveled to ensure the new surface would be suitable for baseball play.

Clifton Park Baseball League president and Clifton Park host team manager Bruce Cramer and his son, Bruce Cramer Jr., designed the field layout for the series.
Babe Ruth League, Inc. has requirements for the design of the field, including a mound height of 10-inches and 60-feet 6-inches away from the home plate as well as outfield requirements.

The time spent preparing the field cannot be imagined or even added up by those who spent their nights, weekends and days off preparing it for the World Series.
“Quarter to seven ‘till twelve o’clock each night,” said Al Williams, another member of the Field Maintenance crew. “It’s a lot of work for no pay.”

But when asked, the father’s admitted, they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.