Through the efforts of Aragon’s baseball community and the school district, the school’s baseball field has undergone renovations.
The past few years of drought and periodic rain has damaged Aragon’s baseball infield soil, posing the need for a new field. Some players have gotten injured due to the divots in the field, others have slipped near first base and some people have injured ankles. Despite the many problems in the baseball field, the baseball team has remained optimistic and grateful to play on a field with their friends.
Before renovations, the poor conditions of the field made it unsafe for the team to play on the field. Still, as renovations are occuring, the outfield contains many potholes, making it susceptible for ground balls to pop up and hit the players in the shoulder or face. Garbage littered the field, becoming unappealing to the eye. Due to the drought, the sod dried off, causing for brown grass. Additionally, first base was a few feet lower than second base, forcing the player to go down a foot or so before running to second base. Senior Oscar Carlos describes, “If you’re playing the outfield, on a ground ball, it might take a bad hop that would be completely unexpected. The shortstop, Henry Kazan, who’s also a senior, one time during practice, the ball bounced off the grass and came up and hit his lip and cut it open. I’m an outfielder, playing in the outfield, which is entirely grass. At times, the grass would have many wet spots, dead spots or potholes. In the right field, there’s the trees right next to it. Sometimes you would have roots from the trees growing up into the grass. During practice or a game, I’ve definitely stepped on them and tweaked my ankle a little bit.”
In fact, last spring, Assistant Principal Ron Berggren deemed the baseball field “unplayable” for CCS finals, should Aragon had qualified for CCS.
The drought has left the field dry, leading to cancelled games or practices. Baseball varsity head coach Lenny Souza claims, “The drought really didn’t really affect the field until it got to the point where the district decided to stop watering because of water rationing … The rain could affect us eventually will be more so would affect the team down the line if we have to cancel a bunch of games.”
To raise money to fix the field, the baseball team set up a GoFundMe page, led by Steve Kazan, the parent of Henry Kazan and a member of the Aragon Athletic Boosters, in order to raise money to improve the field’s condition. The baseball team has also handed out flyers at the basketball quads to further spread awareness for this page. Kazan explains, “The GoFundMe campaign was an opportunity for parents and relatives and grandmas and friends to also contribute … We’ve got donations from as far away as North Carolina.”
As a reward to the people who donated, the baseball team offers lessons that correlates to the amount the person donated. The baseball team is also teaching children from the Little Leagues, helping out the community who has helped them. Senior Jack Tagliafico elaborates, “I think that’s a good idea because we’re giving back to the community who helped us, we’re giving back to the people who helped us get the field.”
With the help of the district, administration, families, students and more, Aragon’s baseball team was able to upgrade their playing field while also give back to those who helped.
