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Date: 6/14/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Reminiscing on his own baseball heyday as a catcher in the John L. Sullivan Sandlot League and later for the High School of Commerce, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno recalled what it meant to play a game at Forest Park’s Walker Memorial Grandstand.
“As a kid, when you had a game at [Forest Park’s] diamond No. 1, it was something special. You felt like you were playing in the major leagues,” he said.
The mayor teased he may have to come out or retirement to don the “tools of ignorance” once more as the park plays host to a special event on the diamond, featuring players with big league aspirations.
With the historic grandstand as a backdrop, Sarno was joined by Westfield Starfires owner Chris Thompson, MGM Springfield President and COO Chris Kelley and other stakeholders behind home plate on June 6 to announce the Futures Collegiate Baseball League team would host its Summer Classic at Forest Park on Sunday, July 30.
In addition to a baseball game, the Summer Classic will include a pregame festival that will offer food and drink, live entertainment, and the opportunity for young athletes to hone their skills under the tutelage of talented collegiate athletes.
Celebrating its fifth year of baseball, the Starfires organization has been seeking ways to expand its reach beyond Westfield and its bordering communities, according to Thompson. He noted the franchise’s steady growth despite the coronavirus pandemic, during which the team didn’t skip a beat and continued playing with the assistance of the city of Westfield and local health officials.
He explained the team had been exploring a Springfield day at Bullens Field, but as the conversation progressed, he said, it was determined it made more sense to pursue a game in the City of Homes.
“The goal from the very beginning of Starfires baseball is to connect with the community. We have [Starfires mascot] Stanley and our players out in the community at many community events around Western Massachusetts and one way to grow this is to look at a venue outside of Westfield for one special afternoon,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to bring baseball back to Forest Park, to introduce Starfires baseball to fans east of the river and hopefully this becomes an annual event.”
He said since initially approaching Sarno’s office about a collaboration, the city has been extremely accommodating.
“[We’re] excited to partner with the Mayor’s Office. It’s always been an open-door policy,” Thompson said.
Sarno noted he has known and had a strong working relationship with Thompson, who previously worked for the American Hockey League, headquartered in Springfield, and then climbed the ranks in the front office of the Springfield Falcons, eventually becoming the team’s senior vice president before it was sold to its National Hockey League affiliate, the Arizona Coyotes, in 2016.
Sarno credited MGM Springfield for “stepping up to the plate” as the event’s sponsor, which will allow it to be free and open to the public. The day begins at the grandstand with the festival and youth clinics starting at 12 p.m., followed by a FCBL showdown between the Starfires and Pittsfield Suns at 4 p.m.
“It’s going to be a full day of family fun,” Sarno said.
The festival portion of the Summer Classic will feature food by Palazzo Café, a downtown Springfield establishment that also manages the Palazzo at the Park concessions at Forest Park, and drinks courtesy of White Lion Brewing Company. Live music will be provided by Pioneer Valley singer-songwriter Frank Manzi.
Starfires players will conduct a skills clinic for youth playing in the John L. Sullivan League and any other children interested in participating at 1:30 p.m. The John L. Sullivan League feature teams from throughout the Pioneer Valley with age groups ranging from tee-ball to the 16 and under Mickey Mantle Division as well as a late-summer wooden bat league.
The game itself, Thompson said, will serve as a showcase of the level of talent on the team and leaguewide. He noted two former Starfires players, Reggie Crawford and Pat Gallagher, were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Crawford was drafted 30th overall by the San Francisco Giants and Gallagher, a Massachusetts native, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round.
The Starfires call Westfield’s Bullens Field home and Thompson stressed the event would not impact the organization’s relationship with the city or the field’s status as the team’s home park. He added the team will “see how this goes” in 2023 before committing to any future or recurring events in Springfield.
Sarno said he hoped the Summer Classic would not only become an annual event but also act as a catalyst for more baseball-related events at the grandstand and beyond. Walker Memorial Grandstand was built in the 1940s and is due for a major renovation, thanks in part to a $3 million federal grant secured by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, which was announced in September 2022. The planned facelift is part of a $12.5 million redevelopment project at the park, which also includes the Horticultural Center and basketball and volleyball courts.
Sarno has been a strong advocate for more baseball in a city that has a lengthy history with the sport, including the Springfield Giants, a minor league team that played at Pynchon Park from 1957-1965 and featured eventual Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Felipe Alou, as well as the lesser-known Springfield Cubs in the early 1950s. Springfield was to be the site for a AA Eastern League franchise in 1994 until plans for a stadium failed to materialize.
Springfield baseball was also in the spotlight in 1934 when the American Legion Post 21 baseball team refused to play in a tournament in segregated North Carolina, turning away a chance to go to the national finals, when they learned Black teammate “Bunny” Taliaferro would not be allowed to play.
In addition to countless youth baseball games and championships, the Walker Grandstand itself hosted a 2010 exhibition between the now-defunct Pittsfield Colonials of the independent professional CanAm League against an all-star team made up of local college players as well as a vintage baseball game played with rules from the late 1800s in 2012.
An artist’s rendering of a potential minor league ballpark was included in the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development’s March 2015 presentation titled “Vision 2017: Springfield’s Next Big Chapter.” Later that year, as discussion regarding the relocation of the Pawtucket Red Sox ramped up, it was reported that Springfield was exploring making a play for the franchise. That storyline was further fueled when Sarno was introduced to then-Pawtucket Red Sox owner and former Boston Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino at the Boston Globe’s “Globie Awards” show, at which Springfield was named “best comeback city.” Sarno did little to tamp down the rumors, suggesting the city would “roll out the red carpet” and stating that Lucchino told him he “liked the way we do business.” Ultimately, due to Minor League Baseball’s territorial restrictions, Springfield was not a contender for the franchise, which relocated to Worcester.