A Terrible Fun Place

It was a place of dirt and grass, or of dirt that would have been dirt had it not been mud. Warning tracks were ruined stretches of mud that were filled with sink holes; long ago the warning tracks might have looked nice, but because they aren’t taken care of, they are in a depressing state. The outfield is covered with geese poop like snow covers a mountain in the winter. Sometimes, geese decide to rest in the outfield and watch a game. The fields are dragged after every game; even though the fields are dragged, the fields slope near the foul lines for drainage. This slope makes it impossible to lay down a good bunt; the bunt simple rolls foul after a few feet. After every couple of games, the fields are chalked so that the fields look like they are in good condition. The batters box has been dug so deep that it rests a few inches deeper then the rest of the field; this of course makes it hard to keep your balance while swinging.

The Fields are old and the players are young; the field is wet, and the players are dry; the field ready to be used, and the players ready for sleep. The fields were in a good spot, visited and revisited by numbers of teams. Much interaction went on between the teams but the understanding was still the same, and that understanding was to win the game.

Although a baseball tournament is going on, there are softball games being played at the other end of the complex. These fields were built with no infield grass so that softball could compete for first. I must say that playing baseball on an all dirt infield is not very enjoyable. Ground balls move faster, mud forms, and wicked hops are thrown at the infielders trying to field the ball. Of course, all the complex owner cares about is getting the money that we are paying in order to play on these run down fields. The only people who don’t mind are the softball players and the fifty year old men who play softball just for fun.

A relatively large building sits in the middle of the complex; it is not much of a complex though. The building was beige. The trim was green. The stairs were green. The railings were green. Far away, the building looks clean and new; at close range, it is dirty and it needs a new coat of paint. Surrounding the building are areas fenced off where equipment for raking and watering the fields are kept.

Inside the building is a place to get food and to play games and to sit down and watch football and to take short naps when they are needed. The floor consists of ripped carpet that is covered with mud from the once new fields. The other part of the floor is tile; the tile is scratched from the spikes of players as they walk through the building to stay warm and to get to a new field.

Ten fields are all the same and thirty teams all there to achieve the same objective; all of them wish to win their bracket. All the dugouts are filled with teams; teams who are there to win. Outside, players run around throwing a football in order to stay warm. Temperatures stay mild, but never exceed seventy degrees. Players in the dugout are bundled in blankets and sweatshirts. Breath can be seen in the air as players run on and off the field like chickens in a coop. Tired, cold, demoralized-the players cannot bear the cold temperatures of nine o’clock at night while playing the last innings of their game.

There was nothing in the complex that wasn’t related to sports. The people move like machines constantly going through warm-ups, exercises, and drills to get ready for the next game. Drills are performed, teams stretch, and people run to keep the blood flowing. Sweat is running down the faces of the players. Dirt covers the players that have already completed their two games. Moms complain about the laundry; dads congratulate their sons and daughters, and coaches teach their players how to get better. Brackets side of the cheap tent. Teams are written down; field numbers, wins and losses, and the seed that your team has received from how many runs you have given up.

Twin Creeks is filled with people batting, people throwing, and people having fun. Some teams perform dynamic warm-ups while others just do standing stretches. All players stretched before a game: only a few do stretches on their own.

Baseballs; they are all over the place. Almost every weekend baseballs are found abandoned in bushes, trees, and garbage cans. In games, about five to six baseballs are used; the amount usually depends on how good the pitchers are; sometimes it also depends on how many baseballs are stolen by the coaches for their team to practice with.

The Twin Creeks Sports Complex- a home for players, a home for coaches, and a home to me- is the center of travel ball in the bay area. Twin Creeks is its own city of many types of people. The parents, the coaches, the workers, and most importantly, the players who make everything an excitement for the people of Twin Creeks Sports Complex will continue to go there for a very long time.

-Richard-