Former Little Leaguers fund $250G field revamp, recall 'Sandlot'-like games

When passing cars made playing baseball on the street in front of their homes impractical, the boys of Kensington Road knew where to go.

A few blocks away in the West Hempstead neighborhood, via a shortcut through a nursery, a small complex of fields served as the stage where the boys gathered a half-century ago for pickup games.

"It was like that field in 'The Sandlot,' " said Bill Janetschek, 63, of Old Westbury, referencing the classic 1993 film.

The boys never lost a Babe Ruth-autographed ball or faced a menacing dog beyond the outfield fence, but they forged a lifelong love of the game, they said, which they hope to pass on to a new generation of kids by funding a field renovation.

On opening day Saturday for the Garden City South-West Hempstead Little League, officials formally unveiled the new Town of Hempstead Kensington Road Kids' Tee-Ball Field on Cherry Valley Avenue in West Hempstead. The all-turf field with new dugouts, bleachers and outfield fence was a privately funded project by the former players, all now in their early 60s, and completed by the Town of Hempstead, said Janetschek, who pitched the plan.

"There were seven or eight of us 50 years ago that all played together and that still somewhat keep in touch," he said.

Janetschek recalled how he noticed the field had fallen into disrepair, while the larger adjacent baseball and softball fields had both been renovated in recent years. He reached out to some of his lifelong friends and then to town officials. The project cost about $250,000, he said.

"I couldn't wait to come here and see this," said Ted Grippo, 61, of Laurel Hollow, who grew up playing with Janetschek. He said the memory "brings a tear to your eye."

Kevin Casey, 62, of Rockville Centre, who also played ball with the group, recalled how "it was like an adventure" to cut through the nursery to reach the field. Even if they only had a handful of boys, they would find ways to make it a game.

"It was great for our parents, too, because our parents would be like, 'Go to the ballfields, kids,' and we'd be gone all day," he said.

Joe Sorrentino, president of the Garden City South-West Hempstead Little League's Athletic Association board of directors, said 13 teams will use the new field this season.

Before the renovation, the field "was a little beat up," he said.

"And this year is good because we got 62 4-year-old kids," he said. "There's a lot of new people in the community so it's like perfect timing."

During a ceremony, Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. told the young ballplayers and their parents how the field holds "incredible significance" to him as the place where the youngest kids begin to learn the game.

"This is where your passion for the game starts," he said.

Clavin told the group how Janetschek's journey began on the same field and how he wanted to give back to the community.

He urged Janetschek to say a few words at the podium, and as the crowd cheered and some chanted his name, Janetschek reluctantly stepped up and delivered two words: "Play ball!"