Gilroy
– Arlene Landeros and Jennifer Ketchum played on the same t-ball
team when they were little girls. Two decades later, they stood
side by side on a lush green field to watch their own children
march in their colorful baseball uniforms to celebrate 52 years of
Little League tradition Saturday at the
new Gilroy Sports Park.
Gilroy – Arlene Landeros and Jennifer Ketchum played on the same t-ball team when they were little girls. Two decades later, they stood side by side on a lush green field to watch their own children march in their colorful baseball uniforms to celebrate 52 years of Little League tradition Saturday at the new Gilroy Sports Park.
After years of celebrating opening day at Christmas Hill Park, this year’s event took place at the new sports complex off Monterey Road and Luchessa Avenue.
Though the new sports park is smaller, more than 800 kids, parents and spectators were in attendance. Proud parents watched as their loved ones marched out of a tent that appeared to be spewing white smoke. The kids waved their hats as the name of their team was called. Whistles from the crowd and hoorays cheered their favorite teams. After all Little League and softball teams were introduced, the Pledge of Allegiance was followed by the Little League pledge, a presentation of the board of directors as well as past presidents of the league, special guest speakers, and a history of the little league. After the event, a show of fireworks ended the day.
For Landeros, the event was more than a ceremony, it rekindled old friendships.
“It’s like a reunion,” said Landeros, who came to watch her 5-year-old daughter for the first time and spent the day with longtime teammate Ketchum.
“My daughter invited all our family members,” she added.
But before the day ended, the guest speakers left the crowd with history and words of encouragement to kick off the new season. The energy was felt from the start.
“Hey kids, you having fun out there?” yelled Don DeLorenzo, the emcee for the ceremony. The kids yelled and whistled and threw their hats into the air.
“Gilroy is fast becoming a hot seat for fine athletes,” said DeLorenzo as he pointed out athletes such as Kelsey Jeffries, International Female Boxers Association featherweight champion, and Frank LaCorte, a former hurler for the Houston Astros. Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was among the guest speakers, and he held his championship belt up as he stood behind the podium, and the crowd cheered.
“Wow, if only the boxing program was this big,” said Guerrero. “Two of the things that got me a long way is trust in God, and give it all you got,” he said.
Dennis Castro, Past President of the Little League passed along a little history.
“It’s tremendous how it’s all grown,” said Castro.
The Gilroy Little League was founded in 1953 by Dr. James Nielson. Castro was president in 1987 with a vision to build a ball park.
“It’s taken 18 years, but it’s well worth it,” he said, choking back tears. “The kids make me proud and I’m happy the sports park is here for them.”
The concept for a youth sports complex emerged in the late ’80s, when residents such as LaCorte and Dennis Castro Sr. originally envisioned a field in the eastern part of the city near Gilroy Foods, but the idea never took flight because of safety concerns about children crossing the highway overpass. In 1997, the city purchased the current site of the sports with the promise of collaborating with LaCorte, Castro and others pushing for a permanent home for youth ballplayers. The master plan for the site was completed six years ago, and today it is a sports park in its early stages.
Jadyn Castro, 6, dressed in his Tigers uniform, walked with his pregnant mother after the ceremony.
“I like to hit the ball,” Jadyn said. “I like to run fast,” he added, then ran toward the new playground. Little did he know that later on that night, fireworks would pleasantly end the day.
“It was really nice, the fireworks were better than the 4th of July at the high school,” said Ketchum. At dusk, fireworks exploding in the air above the park prompted motorists to pull over and watch. When it was over, cars honked and blinked their lights in satisfaction.
“The kids loved it,” Ketchum said.
