Hey all,
Check this out from my 'backyard'. This really demonstrates true Americans doing what we do. God bless the G-P family!
Word in Libby's ear is there are Libs bitchin about it. Some whiner from pot smoke filled Netherlands just cant stand being subjected to American kids having fun. Oh yea the GP family commits the HORRID CRIME of playing the NATIONAL ANTHEM before the game on THEIR PROPERTY!!!!!!!!!!! I promised confidants not to bark in the local rag, but this needs exposure for the kids sake.
There is a huge probability that these folk (GP family) will be shut down by the township for bullshit like 'Engineered Field, Parking, and Noise abatement'.
For more or a look at Blue Water (MITCH CHEE GON) News See this....
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/NEWS01/806110315ST. CLAIR TWP. -- Paul Anglin and his Blue Water Attack baseball team were in a pinch during the winter.
A first-year, 10-and-younger federation league team, the Attack was in need of a home field, and nothing appeared imminent. Then, one of his player's parents, Tony Griffor-Parson, mentioned he had a ballfield at his house and the Attack could use it as its home field.
"I'm thinking in the back of my mind, 'Yeah, I practice with my
kid in my yard, too,'" Anglin said.
Anglin's skepticism turned to optimism, however, when he took a ride to the Griffor-Parsons' home in St. Clair Township for a look. There, in the side yard of the 5½-acre property, was a baseball diamond.
The field, named GP Park, has an 8-foot tall outfield fence, which stands 205 feet from home plate in both left and right fields and 270 feet to straightaway center field.
"I was like, 'Wow, you built your own field,'" Anglin said. "I was shocked. It had a grass infield, it had the right cuts with the bases, and I thought we could work with this."
With some renovations, it has turned into a gem. In fact, the coaches and players -- and even the opposition -- seem unanimous in the belief that GP Park is the most beautiful diamond in the Macomb Area Baseball Federation.
"It's a little far out in the country, but I like it," said player Matt Kennedy, 10, of St. Clair. "It's a really nice field."
Said teammate Darren Bondy, 10, of St. Clair Township: "One team we played -- the Stars -- said, 'Wow, this is the best field we've ever played on,' so it's really nice."
Field of dreams
At the urging of their children, Griffor-Parson and his wife, Jayne, started building the diamond on a weed-filled piece of property next to their house on Richman Road in the summer of 2005. They plowed, tilled and evened out the field before seeding it and spreading straw by hand.
The diamond was built strictly with family use in mind. The Griffor-Parsons have three children -- Ashlynn, 10; Phillip, 9; and Anthony, 7 -- all of whom "love baseball," Jayne said.
Ashlynn plays softball in Marysville for a team coached by Jayne; Phillip is a shortstop for the Attack; and Anthony, while not on an organized team, occasionally practices with the Attack.
Jayne said she didn't think the diamond would be anything too special, until she realized her husband, who is in the construction business, had a different idea.
"Tony said, 'I don't want just a regular field over there. I want to take my time and build a really cool field,'" said Jayne, a registered nurse.
The family, with the help of a handful of neighbors, had the infield done that summer before completing the outfield in 2006. Last year, the fence, which stretches around the field, was installed.
This spring, the Griffor-Parsons -- aided by the Attack -- added dugouts (with a cubby for each player), red dirt for the infield, a yellow railing for the fence and a pitcher's mound.
On the outside of the left-field fence is a sign that reads "GP Park. We built it ... and they came."
"It turned out better than I thought it'd be," Phillip said, later adding, "It's perfect."
The couple declined to estimate the diamond's cost.
Areas of concern
Despite seeing the field's potential, Anglin had his reservations about whether the Attack could play there. He wondered about parking and also about the reaction from other league teams, most of which are from Macomb County.
After all, GP Park is about a mile down a dirt road, and the Macomb teams "already think we're in the boondocks," Anglin said.
He eventually got approval and was able to get 15 of the Attack's 22 league games scheduled at GP Park, since it is available whenever the team needs it. The Attack has five remaining home games, including at 6 p.m. today.
Anglin added he hears no complaints about the location, although the Griffor-Parsons said they have heard visitors call the field "a marriage-killer." Couples apparently fight about directions and whether they're lost before they spot the yellow railing on the fence.
Once there, they are able to park on the Griffor-Parsons' property and often bring lawnchairs, since there are no bleachers or stands. GP Park does have a portable toilet.
"Everyone (who comes) out here is in awe and pretty much says it's the nicest field they've ever seen," Jayne said.
Game days
Assistant coach Dave Kennedy said the best time to be at GP Park, perhaps, is shortly before the opening pitch of a Saturday game, which usually will get under way about noon.
Anglin and a few of the coaches and parents arrive about an hour beforehand to get the field ready, dragging and raking it and chalking the baselines. As the players warm up, the Griffor-Parsons -- from their pole barn about 100 feet past center field -- play a tape of baseball songs.
Meanwhile, the fans, who sometimes include interested neighbors, line the fences and backstop with lawnchairs.
"It looks like a professional field," Kennedy said.
"Usually when the music's playing," Bondy said, "I know it's close to game time and we're going to have a good time."
Afterward, the team occasionally will have a cookout.
The Griffor-Parsons said they will continue to allow the Attack to use the diamond whenever it wants until Phillip -- or later Anthony -- stops playing, which doesn't seem like any time in the near future.
Anglin, his coaches and players and their parents couldn't be happier with the setup. Anglin described the Griffor-Parsons as amazing people who "allow us to have access to basically -- as I look at it -- their home."
"It's probably every kid's dream -- every baseball fan's dream," he said. "It's fantastic."
