Diamonds are forever, or at least for the season
by Jeff Richards, contributing writer
4 years ago | 195 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
    Call it diamond madness. Six days a week, the ball fields between Center Street and 100 South, and 200 East and 300 East are alive with activity.

    This season, there are approximately 380 participants registered, playing on 44 teams in nine different city recreation leagues, said John Geiger, Moab city's recreation coordinator. Add in the many volunteer coaches and support staff, plus the 30 or so city recreation employees (including umpires and grounds crew), along with the numerous fans filling the bleachers each game, and it's easy to see why the ball fields are so busy from late May through July.

     "The ballparks are really the place for people to be," said Geiger. "It's where a lot of families spend their summer." Even when the four fields aren't being used for games, they are usually filled with practicing players, added Geiger.

    The oldest and youngest leagues are the most popular, with the adult co-ed softball league and the co-ed tee-ball league for 5- and 6-year-olds each boasting 10 teams.

    One league, the Fox softball league for girls in seventh through ninth grades, has three teams but also plays regularly scheduled games with three other out-of-town teams (one from Monticello and two from Blanding).

    The other six leagues (Jugs, Mustang, and Pinto baseball, and Coach Pitch, Falcon, and Filly softball) are comprised of teams of varying ages. Four of the leagues have three teams each, Pinto has four, and Jugs has five. The youngest two leagues in the group (Jugs baseball and Coach Pitch softball) both make use of coach-operated automatic pitching machines.

    The tee-ball games aren't scored, and emphasis is on participation (everyone bats each inning) and on learning the fundamentals of the game and its rules. As the kids get older, of course, play gets more competitive. Several of the older youth leagues will culminate play by sending their top teams to the various state tournaments being held in mid-July.

    Joel Hickok, recreation assistant, said that several new amenities and improvements will soon be underway at the ball park facilities. People may have noticed that the old light poles have already been removed. Later this summer and fall, after the current season play ends, metal light towers will installed, with the total number of poles being only half as many as before. Also to be added later are new vinyl-coated fences lining each field, plus new bleachers, and landscaping behind the fences in center field.

    "The new lights will allow us to light up each field independently, and to also control the amount of light independently," said Hickok, adding that a home run net will also be added to the adult softball field fences to limit the number of balls going into the street and surrounding yards. "We'll be able to raise and lower the net as needed," he added.

    One thing fans can expect to see soon are new working scoreboards at each field, Geiger said. Three scoreboards, which cost $4,500 each, were donated by local business owners, two of whom purchased a scoreboard outright and two who combined their resources to purchase a scoreboard. Geiger said a fourth board will be donated and installed later this season.
Share This Article |
similar stories

Rock Stars off to good start | 4 years ago by Jeff Richards, contributing writer

A's, Yankees, Reds vying for Mustang league title | 4 years ago by Jeff Richards, contributing writer

Local baseball teams knocked out at state tournament | 4 years ago by Jeff Richards, contributing writer

GCHS boys open basketball season | 4 years ago by Jeff Richards, contributing writer

Soccer team headed to state playoffs | 4 years ago by Jeff Richards, contributing writer

report abuse...

Express yourself:

We're glad to give readers a forum to express their points of view on issues important to this community. That forum is the “Letters to the Editor.” Letters to the editor may be submitted directly to The Times-Independent through this link and will be published in the print edition of the newspaper. All letters must be the original work of the letter writer – form letters will not be accepted. All letters must include the actual first and last name of the letter writer, the writer’s address, city and state and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be accepted.

Letters may not exceed 400 words in length, must be regarding issues of general interest to the community, and may not include personal attacks, offensive language, ethnic or racial slurs, or attacks on personal or religious beliefs. Letters should focus on a single issue. Letters that proselytize or focus on theological debates will not be published. During political campaigns, The Times-Independent will not publish letters supporting or opposing any local candidate. Thank you letters are generally not accepted for publication unless the letter has a public purpose. Thank you letters dealing with private matters that compliment or complain about a business or individual will not be published. Nor will letters listing the names of individuals and/or businesses that supported a cause or event. Thank you letters about good Samaritan acts will be considered at the discretion of the newspaper.