The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Historic Yale Field ready for its makeover
They say it’s ludicrous to believe animals possess the cognitive thinking necessary to understand of things like the greatest streaks in sporting history. But I’m not so sure. Today marks the 56th consecutive day our dog took a dump in the kitchen.
Backhoes and bulldozers were in place Friday morning, ready to begin work on a monumental change to one of the most historic amateur ballparks in the country.
Yale Field, the venerable old stadium on Derby Avenue whose beauty Babe Ruth himself once marveled over, is about to receive a makeover. The trademark open arches, steel columns, grandstand roof and wooden bleachers will now peer onto a synthetic turf field.
It’s a change sure to furrow a few Old Blue brows, but something that’s been in the works for some time.
"I’m as ‘old school’ as anyone in regards to grass," Yale baseball coach John Stuper said. "But this simply improves the experience of our players and affects their development in a very positive way."
Attending games there was always like stepping into a time warp back to yesteryear, when baseball ruled and fans in straw hats came to watch the likes of Smoky Joe Wood, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams, among the legions of legendary figures that walked this historic field in a simpler time.
The Babe played here while with the Yankees, and in 1948 made one of his final public appearances, shaking hands with Yale’s captain, George H.W. Bush.
"These Yale boys should play great ball," the Babe told the Register that afternoon, two months before his death from throat cancer. "For they have this field. This is the best ballpark I've ever seen, bar none in the majors, and I've been to a lot of them."
That was 70 years ago. Since then, the surface has taken a beating. It’s long been splotchy and chewed up and a virtual death trap of bad infield hops.
But the real issue is usage. Yale’s baseball season is only two months long. Last season, the Bulldogs didn’t play at home until April 9. Every spring, there are endless cancellations or games moved to dry turf fields in New York or Massachusetts.
Synthetic turf can be cleared of snow and recovers almost instantly from rain.
"Many people think it’s about snow. You can plow the turf and then use the field and play a game," Stuper said. "For me, it’s more about rain. It could rain from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. and at 3 p.m. you’re having practice like nothing ever happened. Practices and games will almost never get rained out. That means more games, more at bats, more innings pitched, more reps in practice. And that is how players develop. I am thrilled beyond words."
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