Players and coaches have pictures, memories
to remember unforgettable summer
By: Michael Radomski
August 1, 2009
(PITTSFIELD, MA) – When 28 college student athletes embarked on a baseball journey in June, none of them could have guessed where they would end up. The same goes for three of the most respected coaches in the country.
The experience started in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where all the players and coaches came to Wahconah Park for the first practice of the season. The trip would take this team across six New England states and through a grueling 42-game schedule.
This was the beginning of the Pittsfield American Defenders, a college summer baseball team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).
They first met on a warm, sunny day and looked forward to the uncertain future that the summer would bring them. What started off as a season of baseball lessons turned into a season of life lessons, testing everything that these gentlemen had to offer on a wild season that may never be matched again.
When all was said and done, Pittsfield finished 13-25 and the American Defenders fell four games short of completing their schedule.
The reason? Pittsfield did not only have to compete against 11 other teams in the NECBL and some of the top talent that collegiate baseball has to offer.
Pittsfield also had to battle Mother Nature on a daily basis in what was one of the wettest summers that New England has ever seen.
The American Defenders were rained out 11 times, had games suspended by rain on four occasions, and also were rain shortened two more times. That is 17 games…in a 42 game season…that were affected by rain.
The rain even cut short the Pittsfield season when the city was drenched with four inches of rain in just a matter of hours. The result was astonishing.
What once was a touristic attraction for many sports fans, has now turned into a tourist attraction for water sports.
Wahconah Park has turned into the eighth wonder of the world and possibly the sixth ocean on the atlas following a torrential rainstorm Wednesday night that left the park under water.
Players John Andreoli (UCONN) and Kevin Burk (Univ of Kansas) pose in front of the famous Wahconah Park entrance sign.
With over four inches of rain falling in Pittsfield, Wahconah Park has become so hard hit with water that you need a surfboard or a powerboat to get close to the park.
Pittsfield Director of Operations Tom Miner uses a surfboard to get to work at Wahconah Park.
On Thursday, a few team members made the trip to Wahconah Park to see what has become of their baseball stadium. Tom Miner, the director of operations, resorted to using a surfboard to get into work the next day while others like coach Bob Warn opted to stay dry.
Pittsfield assistant coach Bob Warn points to the river leading to Wahconah Park.
The storm flooded the entire parking lot, much of the clubhouse and grandstand, and remarkably half of the outfield. Pittsfield has seen a few storms like this before, but nothing of this magnitude.
The view from the left field river to the grandstand.
Half of the outfield is under standing water and outfielders may fare better with a kayak than a glove when tracking down a baseball.
There are even animals swimming around the Wahconah Park waters. City officials mentioned seeing fish jumping, while a few Pittsfield staff members noticed snapping turtles and frogs, like this creature.
Visitors to Wahconah Park could see some wildlife including this frog in the murky waters.
The Pittsfield American Defenders did have the tarp on to protect the infield, but it is unclear what could have prevented something like this from happening.
The coaches and players have become experts in pulling tarp over the past two months as they battled with one of the wettest summers on record. Most players came to the team from far away states including Dr. Carroll Land, the hall of fame manager from Point Loma Nazarene in California.
Coach Land even became a victim to the tarp and the wet summer when he couldn’t hang on to the tarp any longer and disappeared underneath it. Moments later, Coach Land emerged from the opposite end, wet and winded from walking about 80 yards to the opposite end. Coach Land mentioned he looked “more like a wet dog than a coach.”
Many of the players and coaches have never even seen a tarp before the season started, nonetheless to pull a tarp over the field. With all of the rain and threats for more, the team came accustomed to bringing the tarp on to and off the field two or more times every day.
Pittsfield native and American Defender reliever David Glass is used to the area and was still surprised with all of the rain. When it started to fall one day, Glass mentioned, “Here we go again. You expect it every day now.”
Wahconah Park, where organized baseball has been played since 1892, has seen many things in its impressive long-standing history but this is a new story to add to the resume.
Pittsfield general manager Jon Tosches looks out from the flooded concourse area into the nearby parking lot.
“It’s been a tough year,” said Pittsfield general manager Jon Tosches. “All of us are in our first year in town but the coaches, players, and front office have really rallied together this season.”
Kevin Burk, a right-handed pitcher and freshman from the University of Kansas, arrived at the park this afternoon in shock.
“You come out here and know that the Northeast is known for some rain, but not this much,” said Burk. “It was pretty bizarre seeing a lake, a flooded field and a flooded locker room when I pulled up.”
Teammate John Andreoli, a first baseman and outfielder from UCONN also showed up and couldn’t believe it.”
“We were lucky to not have this happen to us in June,” said Andreoli, a freshman from UCONN. “It felt like you were at an ocean and not at the park. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
John Andreoli and Kevin Burk take in the moment by swimming near a park bench.
Andreoli also mentioned that some of the players planned to go to the lake on the off day but decided to stop by the park instead.
Pittsfield did have an off day when the high amounts of water were discovered. The American Defenders were also scheduled to play last Friday when the game was scheduled to be played at a nearby city field, when, go figure, even more rain poured on down.
Wahconah Park was constructed back in 1919 and is starting to gain a lot of attention for the rain that has fallen lately.
Pittsfield and Vermont played a game earlier in the year on June 27th that featured a lightning delay, a rain delay, and a sun delay. Wahconah Park was built facing west and is unique for having sun delays in the middle of play.
Games are routinely stopped in the middle of action as the sun blinds the hitter, catcher, and umpire from center field.
Wahconah Park and Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield, CA are the only two fields in America that are still in use that have sun delays.
Games in Bakersfield start at around eight o’clock to avoid the sun delays all together while Pittsfield American Defenders games start at 6:35 PM. Typically games will be delayed in the third inning and can take anywhere from five to thirty-five minutes.
Wahconah Park faced even faced an uncertain future earlier this decade with the possibility for a new minor league facility. However, those plans fell through and Wahconah Park continued to see games played on its site.
Pittsfield owner Dan Duquette brought an NECBL franchise here to Pittsfield in 2005 where the team has been ever since.
For now, Wahconah Park remains under water and adds another piece of nostalgic history to its already impressive resume.
There is a plaque on the Wahconah Park walls to remember the first ever college baseball game that was played between Amherst and Williams College back in 1859.
There may need to be a new plaque put up to remember the great Wahconah Park Flood of 2009, but those who experienced it may need not a sign to remember it. They have the images to recall July 30th, 2009 for the rest of their lives.
They also have the sign of Wahconah Park to remember this one last memory of their summer in Pittsfield.
The sign outside of Wahconah Park says it all...WOW!
