Jays Care Foundation

A baseball field in Saint John’s north end is getting a second chance at life with some help from the Toronto Blue Jays.

St. Peter’s Field has been out of commission for more than a decade.

The Port City Pirates hosted an Atlantic tournament in 2015.

Plenty of time and money was spent to get the field up to snuff for the event.

During the following winter, however, a tree fell on the backstop and the field was put out of service.

Yan del Valle is part of the group The Friends of St. Peter’s.

He said the group, along with the Port City Pirates came together to rescue the field.

Del Valle said he and Port City president Adam Doherty were watching their children play ball at a field in Moncton that had been refurbished through the Blue Jays Foundation’s Field of Dreams program.

“I remember Adam saying, ‘If there is a field in Saint John that the Jays will pick it’s St. Peter’s Field,’” del Valle said.

That chance conversation led the two groups down a path that concluded over the weekend.

St. Peter’s was one of 22 fields named by Jays Care as recipients.

The Saint John field received $148,000 that will support Phase 1 of the project, an initiative to revitalize the historic field.

A small group of people knew the Pirates organization would be one of the recipients of the Jays funding, and they organized a Blue Jays watch party uptown for June 7.

Unfortunately, poor weather forced the party inside Market Square, but the rain didn’t dampen the reaction to the announcement.

Doherty said Phases 1 and 2 will get the field into a playable state, so spectators can come and watch a game.

“Phase 3 is kind of like a wish list,” he said. “We hope that there’s enough stamina to go the distance with this and hope there’s enough support from the community that we could put lights in the place, build a clubhouse, all that sort of stuff.”

For Doherty, the project will have a practical benefit for the baseball community in the city.

The Port City Pirates run programming all the way to 18U, and it’s difficult to find field time with only two fields in Saint John that are the right size.

“Our interest is to try and get another 18U field in the city that’s accessible,” Doherty said. “Kind of like a home field for those kids.”

Doherty said while the 18U AAA team would likely continue playing at Memorial Field, the 18U AA and A teams would make use of St. Peter’s.

The next step is fundraising.

Doherty said the organization has reached out to the provincial government through the Regional Development Corporation.

They’re also going to launch a sponsorship program with various tiers like grand slam sponsor down to base hit, depending on how much money a group or individual gives.

Doherty said he’s hopeful the people of Saint John will step up in support of the project.

“Baseball is a big part of the city’s history,” he said.

And baseball culture is one of support.

“I was at Memorial Field and there was an umpire that was walking around, he forgot his sunglasses somewhere,” Doherty said.

“He made his way over to the canteen area and somebody had turned them in. And he made the comment that kind of stuck out to me and he said, ‘Oh, baseball people are good people.’”

Since the announcement, Doherty said he’s received lots of emails from people with some past connection to St. Peter’s or the Port City Pirates just to ask about the next steps and what they can do to help.

“It’s kind of comforting to know that the baseball community will be there for us.”

A fascinating piece of history

Del Valle’s son, Diego, helped out by digging into the history of the field and putting together a project that he’s submitted to the Heritage Fair National Showcase.

Del Valle said he learned some history that touched him as a baseball fan and Cuban.

On July 9, 1976, the Cuban national baseball team was touring Atlantic Canada and played a game at St. Peter’s.

Del Valle said he learned his baseball hero, first baseman Antonio Muñoz, played in that game.

“I grew up worshipping him,” del Valle said. “I used to write in newspapers in Cuba before I came to Canada and I remember writing an article about him, making the argument that he was the best hitter in Cuban baseball history.

“When I find that was in that field, you know, it closed the deal for me.”

If you’d like to support Diego’s project, visit this link.