SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — When Juan Aguayo used to pitch in his little league days down at Memorial Park baseball field in Logan Heights, he noticed something was off about the pitchers mound.
"The pitcher's mound doesn't align with home plate, and it's been like that since I was a kid," said Aguayo, pointing at the pitching rubber.
Now, Aguayo is coaching for his son on the same field and it’s not just a crooked mound that’s bothering him.
"I get here ahead of our time to schedule, to practice, to clean up because usually it's filthy," said Aguayo. "It's also a safety issue if there's a beer bottle or whatever bottle that's out there and we don't see it, there goes a kid's leg."
Besides the trashed fields, the dugouts are run down, the scoreboard doesn’t work, the snack bar is falling down and the lights won’t turn on.
Meaning, Aguayo won’t be able to practice past 5:30 p.m. after daylight savings.
"The city doesn't do anything about it," said Aguayo. "How much do we need to ask? Because it has come to the point we're not even asking anymore. And we're actually begging them now."
Parents of players have been contacting local elected leaders about the disrepair of the diamond. Proper upkeep and maintenance of the city park falls under Parks and Recreation Department. The staff of Vivian Moreno, the councilwoman representing Logan Heights gave this statement:
“Upon receiving complaints from families concerning the state of the Memorial Park Snack Bar and restrooms, our office immediately reached out to the Park & Recreation Department to facilitate a meeting with parents and City staff in order to address these issues.
We have not heard back from City staff yet for an update. Councilmember Moreno’s priority is the safety and health of the residents of District 8 and we will continue to request that City staff resolve the issues at Memorial Park.”
For now Aguayo and his team will continue to practice and clean the ball field themselves, something that’s hard to swallow on away games.
"We take them to other fields and their self-esteem drops to their ankles when they see other fields," said Aguayo. "They're top-notch and we come here, we can't even get the grass cut."
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