Show I Lt FRANK K BAKER BAKER- Salt Lake City is is s rapidly outgrowing its present baseball base- base baseball basei i ball facilities and will need more diamonds next summer to to to adequately carry out its ev cv ever r growing program Advent of soft ball has created a very definite n need ed for more playing space Fortunately the soft ball game does not notI I take as much space as regulation hard ball docs does and will therefore be comparatively easy to equip Community park with its new improvements and the two diamonds at Municipal park provide excellent facilities for lor the city's major hard ball games but these three fields I I t are arc regretfully meager when it comes to providing playing space for dozens of teams in the Independent Catholic and Junior leagues not to mention the Amateur Federation and Industrial league clubs I The city recreation department built a new diamond diamond dia dia- I mond at Fairmount park on Ninth East street pear near Forest Forest For Fot- est Dale golf course last summer but the field Is not 1 adaptable to regulation baseball Twilight league games are entirely out of the qt estion es- es I tion there thele because the field is well surrounded by tall tail trees which hasten darkness J Even in daytime the foli foliage ge of the trees makes a a. 1 broken pattern against the sky y for a background against I f which which fielders have difficulty Judging a fly ball Many blows blows arc entirely unseen until it is too late except to go gor goI t r I after the ball and pick it up with the runner already I I well along on his Journey around the bases t j Preparation for soft ball is a need that is fully recI recognized rec rec- rec- rec J I ed by the recreation authorities Acquisition of suitable suitable suit suit- I able ground and its preparation for the small diamonds 1 and it will take the is an expensive problem cooperation i of every interested agency to work out a solution Hard ball and soft ball definitely do not belong on I the same field Soft ball with its miniature diamond leaves a regulation infield badly cut ut up for hard ball bail That makes it imperative to keep the soft ball games out of C Community park where a new newly infield was inaugurated last summer If I the thc soft ball tournaments and championship games are to be kept out of Community park parle though steps must be taken to provide the teams with a place that will accommodate a crowd The gravel topped J f L playgrounds which the soft ball teams used in inmany inmany many instances last summer certainly wont won't serve as a stimulus to the new games game's popularity All Soft Ball Leagues Should Unite In En n Establishing ling One Central Field Soft ball enthusiasts will be wise wIe to pool their Interests in a program that will make a common project out of their needs for tor better playing facilities If H the association headed by Dr L. L B Th White While the fraternity and various church and independent leagues united in a common cause there is no reason why they couldn't establish one good field with bleachers to take care of a lan large e crowd By cooperating the leagues could set up lights for night play pIa and by br combining day and night schedules five or six leagues could be accommodated by the single field Much of the progress in the development of f c the city's three major hard ball diamonds must be credited to the Amateur Federation Much money derived from Federation games has been used for tor the maintenance and improvements at nt the parks Both Industrial and md amateur teams using Community park pay rentals rentals ren for the field Soft ball interests will be smart to set up a unified plan so that the sundry expenditures will be going toward a common cause too |