Jamie Paige, SMDP / Venice Current Staff Writer
The Venice High School varsity baseball team will play their last games of the season on home field. Until Monday evening — that was up in the air.
The new million-dollar Venice High baseball field recently went through significant renovations. Part of the improvement plans called to move the home plate 39 feet.
The move ultimately impacted where home run balls landed. Many in nearby backyards — something neighbors told the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) concerned them. “There has been a drastic increase of balls that have come across the fence in recent months,” neighbors said in a letter sent to the school. “During the last eight weeks alone, at least 14 balls landed in the neighbor’s yard. Every single one could have caused serious injury. Many of the residents have very young children, and right now, they are our priority.”
As a short-term solution, the school district looked to move home games to another field until the issue could be fixed. The information did not bode well with parents and team members who said playing out the season [at home] meant a lot — especially after losing an entire season to COVID-19. “It’s my last year to play with this team,” said team captain Deon Dizon Jr. “To do things like have a senior night on our home field is important.” Dizon has been playing baseball with many of his fellow teammates since freshman year. “We’ve been looking forward to ending our season together at home.”
Not only would the players miss out, but parents also expressed their concerns about the possibility: “Most of us work –if they move the games, we might not be able to make them. Not only is our son going to miss out, so will we,” said Mariaelena (Nena) Avila, Dizon’s mom.
The baseball community came together. Many began writing letters and reaching out to the school including Dizon’s cousin Paul Alvarez Jr.. “Venice baseball runs deep in my family,” he wrote. “I’ve had cousins come before me and play on that very field and I now have a cousin currently on the team. Deon Dizon Jr already had his junior year torn away from him over this whole pandemic. Now you’re allowing someone who bought a property knowing the baseball field was already there to rip away his senior year.
Don’t you remember being in high school and at that age?” the letter went on to say. “I do. Some of the most pure and fun times I had was on that field with my friends who have given me friendships for a lifetime. I’m 30 years old now and when I look back on my days at Venice, baseball is one of my fondest memories. I plead and beg you to let the kids be kids have fun while they can. For most of them, this will be the last time they play organized baseball other than a beer league on Sundays. For others, you’re ripping away a future. Some of these kids are being scouted and let’s face it, a lot of play better on our own home turf. Hence the term, ‘home-field advantage.’”
The efforts paid off. Over the past several weeks, Mark Hovator, the Chief Facilities executive for Venice High and other LAUSD employees, came up with a game plan for long and short-term solutions.
“We’re going to have a fence that is going to go straight up and beyond the height of a home run,” explained Hovator. Hovator said that along with the extra fence and net, changes also call for more panels that will be “visually aesthetic.”
“This means you’ll be playing at home,” Hovator told attendees.
“If you could’ve seen the reaction of my Dude [Dizon] when he heard that he could finish off his season at home. I had tears,” said Avila.
“It took a Village; now our Village is shifting all our energy to help our softball girls.”
“I feel so blessed to know that they’re so many good people in the world who helped us fight for what was fair and what was right.”
There are four remaining home games for baseball and two for softball.
This story was published in partnership with the Venice Current.