A Day in the Dirt for IndyDoDay

At the heart of any baseball team stands the field: It witnesses the cheers and homers hit far over the fence, but also sees heartbreak and tough losses. For many leagues throughout Central Indiana, however, a clean and playable field is not always a reality.

This is where the Indianapolis Indians front office steps into the picture.

On the afternoon of October 5, Indians' staff members participated in the annual Indy Do Day by returning to the baseball diamonds at Forest Manor Park. Though rain threatened in the morning, the day quickly turned into the perfect work day for the fields to transform.

"We have kind of adopted the fields here at Forest Manor Park, so we come back every year," said Brian McLaughlin, Indians community relations and promotions manager. "These are Play Ball Indiana's fields, so this is where their kids play and we sponsor 10 of their teams. We have the knowledge to help fix the fields, and they [Play Ball Indiana] have said that they watch us after we fix up a field and try to model that on all of their other fields and it helps their budget in the work we do today."

Play Ball Indiana, the Central Indiana chapter of MLB's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program, aims to reach and generate interest in children every year through baseball and softball. The Indians have integrated themselves into this mission by taking on the hard labor that goes into a playable field: seeding, rebuilding pitching mounds, lining fields and much more.

Though the main mission of the day of service is creating sustainable fields for little leaguers to come, the Indians' staff also gains a new appreciation for the hard work it takes to maintain a baseball diamond.

"We just get the whole staff out here to spruce it up a little bit and hopefully it means a little bit to the kids," said Joey Stevenson, Indians' head groundskeeper. "It's good to get everyone outside and out of the office and see them work hard for a few hours and be sore in the morning."

While some staff members know the work well, others were entering the project for the first time.

"I thought it was a really good experience, being my first year," said Jessica Davis, Indians' graphic designer. "I think it's a really cool idea to come out and clean up a field that we sponsor and help with the community. I had a lot of fun out here and seeing the grounds crew kind of take over and see what they do best, the field really transforms into something cool."

The fields the staff works on will be used throughout the fall, playing host to Play Ball Indiana's fall leagues.

So while the day started with fields a little rough around the edges, Indians staff left weary and tired, but with smiles all around.

"Coming out here and knowing that the kids are going to walk out here, if they have a fall game this weekend, which they typically have in the past, they are going to walk in here with their eyes wide open and see, especially on the little league diamond and the softball diamond, the work that's done," said Randy Lewandowski, Indians' general manager. "It is manicured, the mound is perfect and the plate is perfect and ready for them to play. It really is about the kids and youth baseball, and that's really what we are."