A Historic Day for PPBA

50th Year begins with “Field of Dreams”

While hundreds of families flocked to tables on the outdoor basketball courts at the Palisades Recreation Center Saturday morning for the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s annual pancake breakfast, Mike Skinner was busy examining the portable fences down on the playing fields. A broad smile was on his face and understandably so–the $100,000 “Field of Dreams” project he had overseen for years was finally complete. “I really don’t know what to say except that I knew this day would come,” said Skinner, who helped 14-year PPBA commissioner Bob Benton unveil the Field of Dreams’ donation wall to kick off the organization’s 50th season. And the day was indeed as golden as the hundreds of pancakes consumed. After the pledge of allegiance, led by longtime Palisadian Ray Kirby of the American Legion, Benton thanked the Legion for its financial support of the Field of Dreams project and thanked Rec Center Director Cheryl Gray. “This was a disruptive process, but she handled it with good humor and a spirit of cooperation,” Benton said. He also thanked LuAnn Williams, a key member of the fundraising committee, and pancake breakfast organizer Lisa St. John. “The breakfast is our No. 1 fundraiser and this is our biggest year ever,” Benton said. “Lisa had never done this before, but she pulled it off.” “I found out it takes a village to feed a village,” St. John said. Finally, Benton praised Skinner for his tireless efforts once the renovation project was set into motion. “None of this would’ve been possible without our Citizen of the Year,” Benton said. “We gave him the job. He took it, he lived it and he made it a reality.” Skinner was presented with a crystal ball and a wooden bat. Engraved on the ball stand, which was hand-carved by PPBA coach Jerry Rosetti, were the words “If you build it, they will play” and engraved on the bat was the message “A world of thanks,” along with the signature of each board member. A thunderous applause erupted when Skinner took the microphone and addressed the 24 teams and the coaches, friends and families in attendance. “As they say, the coach carries the bag but players play the game,” Skinner said. “One thing about construction work is that it never goes easy. This gym is an example of what can go wrong. But this job went flawlessly from start to finish.” Skinner showed the audience a book given to him by Athletic Turfs contractors Chris Krug and Manny Adams chronicling the day-to-day history of the community-funded project. He also thanked John Bertrum and Bob Levitt, who led the fundraising campaign and “weren’t afraid to ask for money from all of their wealthy friends.” Skinner also made a pitch for more donations. “It’s never too late to donate,” he said. “There’s an ongoing need for maintenance and your money will be put to good use in the future.” Next, Benton announced the biggest surprise of the day–that Skinner would join fellow Palisadians Bill Simon (the former gubernatorial candidate) and fitness guru Jake Steinfeld in throwing out the first pitches to officially begin the landmark season. “I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world to be living in this community and to be part of a group that made this field possible,” Simon said afterwards. “My son is on the Bronco Dodgers and he got up at 6 a.m., put his uniform on and was so excited. We live right around the corner, so this whole experience hits very close to home for us.” Steinfeld, too, was excited to part of opening-day festivities. “I live in the Palisades now, but I grew up in Brooklyn where we didn’t have fields like this to play on,” Steinfeld said. “I’ve been so fortunate in my life and it’s nice to be able to give back.” Catching the first balls were three of Vin and Sandra Scully’s 12 grandchildren: 12-year-old Matthew (a “retired” PPBA player), 10-year-old Chad (who plays on the Mustang Braves) and 6-year-old Neal (who starts five-pitch in April). Vin Scully, the legendary radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, lives near Riviera Country Club. He and his wife made the largest donation of all to the Field of Dreams. Pinto Indian Chase Byington won a one-week session at the UCLA Baseball Camp for selling 160 tickets to the pancake breakfast, raising $480. “He was like a little sales maniac, calling all my friends on the phone,” said Chase’s mother, Jennifer. Second was Jacob Carilla, who raised $394 and earned a session at the Pepperdine Baseball Camp. After Bronco Oriole Patrick Elder gave a stirring rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner,” Benton made the announcement everyone had waited for all morning: “Play ball!” It didn’t take long for the excitement of opening day to carry over to the diamonds. In the first game of his Pinto career, 8-year-old Dawson Rosenberg of the Tigers christened Diamond 3 by hitting the first pitch of the game to the left field fence on one bounce. The Indians ultimately edged the Tigers, 10-9, and in other Pinto Division games the Red Sox beat the Orioles, 19-7, the Phillies beat the Braves, 6-1, and the Dodgers downed the Cardinals, 18-12. In the Mustang Division, the Tigers beat the Indians, 12-5, the Red Sox shut out the Orioles, 15-0, the Braves defeated the Phillies, 11-6, and the Cardinals edged the Dodgers, 11-10. The Bronco Division featured an exciting battle between the Braves and Phillies, won by the Braves, 14-13. In other games, the Indians blanked the Tigers, 12-0, the Red Sox outlasted the Orioles, 14-10 and the Cardinals edged the Dodgers, 5-4.