Field Of Dreams
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Richard A. Richmond
Contributor - Community Press Journal

"If you build it, he will come." In the 1989 baseball classic "Field of Dreams," Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, hears phantom voices uttering this famous line which inspires him to build a baseball field in his cornfield where ghosts of the 1919 Chicago White Sox show up to play. Despite a lack of supernatural inspiration, local resident and baseball fan Matt Gray has realized a similar dream; in his parent's backyard.

Gray, with the help and support of many friends and family, has erected a ball field in his parent's backyard in Eastgate. The field allows Gray and his friends to participate in a favorite hobby: Wiffleball.

"We always joke that it's a 'field of dreams'," Gray said. "Every kid growing up wanted their own ballpark," he continued. "My parents had the land so I figured, 'why not?'"

Gray and his business partners/friends John Reeves, Doug Hopkins and JD Erickson run an annual wiffleball tournament in Cincinnati called Wifflepalooza. The friends also participate in various wiffleball tournaments throughout the region.

After ten years of setting up makeshift practice fields in his folks' yard, Gray approached them about creating a more permanent structure for his hobby.

"They were cool with it," Gray said. "They get to show it off."

The field itself is a quarter-scale reproduction of the dimensions of the Great American Ballpark, and is dubbed "Gray American Ballpark.

Construction on the park took place in four phases. First, the field layout based on the dimensions of GABP was set up. "Everything had to be laid out precisely," Gray said. Next the existing sod was torn out. "That took a long time," Gray commented. Then dirt was brought in from Evans Landscaping, who also provided the dirt for the Reds ballpark. "I wanted a real infield dirt mix and Evans was the only company in town that provided it," Gray said. Finally, supports were put in for the outfield walls, anchored bases were set in concrete and a raised pitching mound was put in. The construction took almost every weekend for four months and cost "more than a few car payments" to complete, according to Gray.

"I'm glad I had friends and family willing to work for sweat equity." Gray and his friends use the field about every other weekend for recreational games and to practice for wiffleball tournaments. "We have to get a lot of batting practice in," Gray said.

The future for the park, which is set in an unassuming cul-de-sac in Eastgate, is bright; or at least that's the plan. "We don't have lights, yet," Gray lamented. "We want to have bleachers in left field, lights and Dad (Jim Gray) suggested getting some smoke stacks."

Although the ballpark was truly a labor of love, inspired mostly by the desire to have an elevated level of fun with his favorite hobby, Gray's experience building the park left him feeling slightly inspirational himself.

"I tell anyone with vision and a goal that with a lot of patience, persistence and help from friends and family you would be surprised at what you can accomplish."