Weather around San Diego lately hasn't been the kind made to order for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
So it had to be a great omen of sorts when pristine blue skies greeted the Padres on Monday afternoon when they ventured out to La Mesa for the dedication of the 40th Little Padres Park. Great weather for a great program.
The lush green fields of the Rolando Little League complex soaked in the sunlight as Padres representatives, politicians, league officials and, most important, young ballplayers and their proud parents gathered to mark the grand re-opening of the fields.
"We may be the only place in America that's dedicating a green field today," Padres President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Garfinkel said. "San Diego is America's Finest City, and this is a great representation of that."
No doubt that one of the things that makes San Diego America's Finest City is the wide range of recreational opportunities. It's an outdoors town.
It does FJ's heart good to know that some of that outdoors time is still spent on ballfields. Nothing against the beach or skate parks, but a baseball diamond remains a special place.
Garfinkel put it well:
"Baseball is emotional; it's visceral," he said. "It ties us all back into something unique and something special. ... I developed a lot of my relationship with my dad through baseball. Whether it's your grandmother, your grandfather, your kids, getting engaged at a baseball game -- there are so many great memories that tie into baseball.
"It's a conversational sport that's uniquely woven into the fabric of our society. These type of events help hammer home what (Padres Vice Chairman/CEO) Jeff Moorad talked about when he came to San Diego, what the Padres are all about: being very involved in the community."
The Padres Foundation, committed to inspire youth to Live a healthy life, Learn and Play, began the Little Padres Park program in 1996. The Rolando Little League fields marked the 40th Little Padres Park that has been built or refurbished.
The 40th dedication brought out La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid and San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts, as well as several members of the La Mesa City Council.
The Swinging Friar mascot was there, to the delight of the kids. And the big kid at heart, Padres closer Heath Bell, was there.
Bell brought the humor, as always. He told the Little Leaguers that he hoped there might be some future Big Leaguers there, so that he could strike them out some day.
"Or maybe you'll take me deep," Bell added. "I'll be really, really old then."
Bell cavorted with the Friar, signed autographs for the kids long after the actual dedication and spoke about the quality of the latest Little Padres Park.
"This is an unbelievable field," Bell said. "I put my son -- he's 6 years old -- into Little League. He ashed me, 'Is the field I'm going to play on going to be as good as this. He wants to play on this field because it looks like PETCO Park, just without the stadium around it."
This was FJ's first Little Padres Park ceremony. Looking at the delight in the players' faces, the excitement of all those Little League volunteers, it's overwhelming to consider that positive vibe 40 times over.
The program is part of the Padres' commitment to provide safe, clean places for boys and girls to play baseball and softball. The Little Padres Park program has reached south into Baja California, east into Imperial Valley and north into Riverside County.
Each park represents countless hours of work by partnerships forged under the Padres' direction. It's not just money needed to build a park. It takes donated material, time, and expertise.
For more about the Little Padres Parks, check out Corey Brock's news story on padres.com.
The Rolando Little League field comes with help from Roberts, county Supervisor Dianne Jacob, The Brickman Group, Aztec Fence, Briles Palm Farm, EDCO, Gail Materials, Hunter Industries, Hawthorne Rent-it Services, Fast Signs, GDM Contracting, Hydro-Scape Products, Tomark Sports and West Coast Turf.
"Without all these partners, we wouldn't be able to put together a field like this for the community," Garfinkel said. "Thanks so much."
Those partners hit a home run Monday. Now, it's the kids' turn.
FJ
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(Photos by Padres team photographer Chris Hardy. Top photo shows Padres President/COO Tom Garfinkel, pitcher Heath Bell and the Swinging Friar with kids from the Rolando Little League. Inset photo shows the refurbished playing field. Photo below is Bell signing autographs.)
