By Kim J. Harmon

Snowballs have as much to do with baseball as a hockey stick does, but when it came to expanding a couple of baseball diamonds at Glander Field to dual-use capability (from the standard 46/60 field to the intermediate 50/70 field) the snowball effect took over and now several fields under the purview of Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball are boasting some nifty improvements.

“We needed to convert the fields (at Glander),” said Matt McWilliams, Babe Ruth League president, “and then one board member said we also needed new fencing at another field and everything just kind of snowballed, really.”

With money left over in the coffers from the major banquet held last year – featuring former New York Yankees reliever Goose Gossage – Newtown Babe Ruth was able to undertake a fairly large overhaul of its facilities.

The central piece of the puzzle was the conversion of the two fields at Glander.

Cal Ripken Baseball began exploring the new intermediate diamond (50-foot pitching rubber, 70-foot basepaths) to help players in the 12-year-old divisions make the transition from the traditional diamond (46-foot pitching rubber, 60-foot basepaths) to the full-sized diamond (60-foot, 6-inch pitching rubber, 90-foot basepaths) they would be playing on as 13-year-olds.

“Part of our overall plan was to try and retain kids,” said Mr McWilliams. “Going from 60 to 90 feet bases is a big transition and lots of kids were dropping out. The idea was to introduce the mid-sized field to our 12-year-olds, who will be playing on the large field next year. This changes the whole dynamic of the game for them.”

Traditionally, in Babe Ruth (or Cal Ripken) baseball, leading and unfettered stealing is not allowed – but on the intermediate field, both are allowed and that opens up a new dynamic for pitchers who have to learn how to hold runners on and infielders who have to learn how to adjust to more running on the basepaths.

“It’s a more competitive game,” said Art Rowe, the director of field operations. “And the kids have had a blast so far,”

The conversion of the field meant some extra clay and a larger infield and a re-shaping of the pitching mound. The bases can be moved and the old 46-foot rubber is removable as to allow the younger and older divisions to use the field.

On top of that, the backstop was moved to provide more room behind the catcher and open up the possibilities of runners advancing on passed balls or wild pitches or making that mad dash for home on a stolen base attempt.

“Parks and Rec has been an integral part of all of this,” said Mr McWilliams. “We couldn’t have done this without them. We had great weather and they had the time (to work on Glander) and providing the labor for us was just great.”

But as Glander was undergoing its new facelift, other fields got a sprucing up, as well. The field at Sandy Hook School now has new fenced-in dugouts and fenced-in on-deck areas while the lower Liberty Field and the Newtown Middle School field now have on-deck areas and metal roofs over the fenced-in dugouts.

The fields will also boast updated progressive release bases which can pop off when slid into and provide a level of protection for players.

“Everything was designed with safety in mind,” said Mr Rowe, who also provided newer catcher’s equipment at all the fields (players are not required to provide their own catching equipment; there are two sets at each field for teams coming in for a game).

Newtown Babe Ruth is not quite finished, either, as plans for bullpens at Glander Field are being discussed. But right now …

“Everything looks great,” said Mr McWilliams.