Palmer Little League Opening Day sees record number of players

PALMER — In their 68th year as a 100 percent volunteer-run organization, Palmer Little League held their Opening Day ceremonies on Saturday at the Sherrod ballfields to begin the baseball and softball season with a record number of ballplayers.

Palmer Little League has 651 ballplayers that will compete on diamonds around Palmer this summer with 511 baseball players and 140 softball players playing on 53 teams for kids ages four to 16. Palmer Little League President Dave Combs threw out the ceremonial first pitch to majors catcher Reed Craner on Saturday.

As part of the ceremonies for Opening Day, Combs also announced that PLL was beginning their capital campaign in an effort to raise an estimated $3.5 million for an indoor training facility on 4.5 acres of land that closely borders the Sherrod ballfields. Renderings of the possible designs for the facility were displayed on the snack shack at the Sherrod ballfields for ballplayers and parents alike to gaze at and dream of indoor batting practice.

“We’ll be able to have year round training if people want it, but it’s not just going to be for baseball. Yes it’s going to be a baseball softball complex but it’s going to be a community center for people to come by,” said Combs. “We’re thinking before school after school, we’re thinking seniors, we’re thinking community events but mainly first come first serve is baseball and softball and that’s what it’s going to be. That’s the vision and I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for us to get it, we just need to get the ball rolling.”

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly approved Ordinance 20-002 in 2020 to provide a dual land classification for a five-year period to allow PLL to begin planning and construction of the indoor facility. The specifications drawn up call for a 38,000 square foot facility with 28 foot ceilings. A ballfield positioned inside would have a left field fence of 155 feet and a right field fence of 147 feet with two batting cages, three pitching and hitting tunnels, a pro shop, concessions, locker room and video training room.

While the indoor training facility is a lofty goal for local ballplayers, a group of dedicated volunteers helped renovate the Harvey Busbey field in downtown Palmer that had become unplayable after nearly two decades of neglect. Softball volunteer Dave Sutton led a group with Mike Alley, Gary Chase, Philip Schoon, Matt Hartman, Duane McQuillin, rob Meyer, Woods Miller and Ricardo Solis who tore out the old dugouts and constructed new ones as well as tearing down the old fencing and replacing it with a new, regulation height fence. The newly renovated field has already hosted league games, and will allow Palmer Little League to host softball tournaments with multiple regulation fields in town.

Neighboring the Busbey field, the Palmer Senior Field batting cages also received an upgrade. Connect Vets assisted Palmer Little League by removing lateral pipes and reinforcing the metal structure of the batting cages at PSF. Previously, the superfluous pipes running vertical would result in unintended ricochet back at batters while hitting in the cages, making hitting unsafe.

“Safety was number one, it was unsafe. We got rid of all the horizontal bars, we took out some of the verticals, just cut them out totally, reinforced the top so it doesn’t need it any more. It’s actually safe,” said Combs.

While the typical practice at the Palmer Little League Opening Day is to read the name of every single player on a team that year, the process was foregone to save time. A slight drizzle began to fall on players who gathered as an entire league at the Sherrod ballfields. Each player recited the Little League Pledge.

“I trust in God. I love my country and will respect its laws. I will play fair and strive to win but win or lose, I will always do my best,” reads the pledge.

Following the players with less enthusiasm, parents and volunteers also recited a pledge.

“I will teach all children to play fair and do their best. I will positively support all managers, coaches and players,” reads the pledge. “I will respect the decisions of the umpires. I will praise a good effort despite the outcome of the game.”