Dear Editor,

I just read Michael Letendre’s piece about the condition of the baseball/softball fields in Bristol. I play for the Bristol Mustangs in the over-35 division of the CT North Men’s Senior Baseball League, and our home games are at the Page Park baseball diamond on Sunday mornings.

Baseball players are notoriously prickly about field conditions. Part of the pregame routine is to examine the field closely for anything that might pose a problem once the games start. For example …

• ·        Has the pitcher’s mound been groomed, or is there a massive hole in front of the rubber?
• ·        Are there holes in the batter’s box?
• ·        Has the infield dirt been smoothed out?
• ·        What is the condition of the dirt around the bases?
• ·        Has the grass been cut recently?
• ·        Are there any known safety hazards to avoid?
• ·        Is the field full of goose droppings?
• ·        Have the baselines and batter’s box area been lined with chalk?

Because Sunday is our only opportunity to play each week, we’ve often brought an assortment of yard tools to do our own field maintenance, especially after it rains, or else the field would be too sloppy to play on and our games would be cancelled. More times than not, the Page Park is adequate for playing when we arrive, but the grass is often extremely long, especially in the infield.

To be clear, no one expects the fields to be as pristine as Muzzy Field; we have played at Muzzy twice the past two years, and the field was impeccable on each occasion. At the same time, the condition of ALL the Bristol playing fields is a reflection on the town itself.

Players come from all over the state to play on Bristol fields each weekend, and they often leave with an impression of Bristol itself based on the field conditions. If the fields are poorly maintained, then the opposing teams may end up with a negative view of Bristol.

Although a majority of the Mustangs don’t live in Bristol (myself included), we are still so-called baseball ambassadors for the town. For that reason, we take pride in how the Page Park field is cared for. I’m sure other Bristol baseball/softball teams might feel the same way about their home fields.

Each Sunday, the Mustangs wear bright red jerseys that look sharp and make us stand out from the other teams in our league. Just as we care about our appearance – dressed in our freshly laundered uniforms on game day — we also want the field to look like Bristol cares about ITS appearance – and more importantly, the teams/players/people who represent it.

David Kull

The Bristol Mustangs — #14

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