Mon 31 Mar 2008
The Saddest Ballfield in All of New York
Posted by TJ under Mount Vernon, Wakefield
It is, simply and frankly put, the saddest ballfield in all of New York.
No, not Shea. Smartass.
On this, the unofficial national holiday and brightener of spirits known as Major League Baseball Opening Day, we salute the most pathetic baseball field–this Field of Nightmares, this Diamond in the Rough–we’ve ever seen.
If you’re on the Harlem Line heading south, look to the east just past Mount Vernon West, just after the lot filled with yellow and white cement mixers. (If you’re heading north, it’s a little past Wakefield.) It’s under a broken sign that once read “HUGH RICHARD” or somesuch but now reads “HUGH RICHA”.
It’s a dirty and lonely stretch of the metropolitan area right along the Westchester/Bronx border known as Bronkers. And right along the border is this former ballfield. You’ll see a black backstop that actually looks to be in good shape. You’ll see concrete walls along the baselines, perhaps to hold fans, perhaps to protect adjacent lots from foul balls.
You’ll see what was once the infield covered in an array of blighted industrial decay: Trucks, machinery, rubble.
As we venture out to those corporate-backed temples to our national pastime today, let us take a moment and raise a $9 Bud to the loneliest little field in the world.