The SCH Varsity baseball field is not just a normal baseball field in Chestnut Hill, but it holds so much history to the Chestnut Hill community. Over the years there has been some controversy about turfing that piece of land that we know as the baseball field. The baseball team has made many arguments based on the poor drain system of the field. However, is SCH really ready to get rid of so much history that the baseball field holds?
The history of the field dates back over 100 years, but it wasn’t always the baseball field we see today. Teacher and coach of SCH, Paul Hines, has spent 43 years in the SCH/CHA community and he knows all the history there is to know about the campus.
Paul Hines stated, “After the Inn was built in 1884,” said Paul, “they named the fields the West Fields because they were located west of the Inn. During this 1880s time period there was a creek back there which was great for throwing stones.” From the 1880s to the 1890s the field began to create change and became a staple to the Chestnut Hill community. Mr.Paul Hines explained, “In 1894 it became home to the Philadelphia Horse Show which eventually became the Devon Horse Show. They had stables out there and thousands of people would come to watch the horses. Once the Devon Horse show moved to Devon, the school took over the Inn in 1898. The school then used the field to play baseball and football and there even used to be a track around the field.”
This baseball field is one of, if not the oldest baseball field that is still used in America today. When I asked Mr.Paul Hines what he thinks about turfing the field he said, “A grass and dirt field is fine, we have other artificial fields on campus, the historic part of this field is great as- is.”
Current SCH baseball players When I asked current SCH baseball players their opinion of the baseball field, they didn’t really have much other thought than that they want a turf field. Senior and captain on the baseball team Tucker Delisle said, “I think that the history is very important, however it is time for change especially because we get so many practices and games rained out with the field we have today.” Other players said that we have a disadvantage because most other teams in the inter-ac have turf and we are stuck with a grass field. Junior baseball player Jake Warren stated, “[Having a turf field}It will give us an advantage because whenever we get to [another team’s] a turf field we are not used to the way those fields play. On our field, the bad hops are almost unbearable. We see all the other inter ac teams going to turf and we even have other turf fields here on campus. It’s 2024 and it’s time to move on and change for the better of the school’s programs.”
Although these SCH students have a lot to say about the field, I think that SCH is not ready to give up the history that the field itself holds. We have two turf fields here at SCH, Maguire Stadium and the 2016 Turf. Therefore, if SCH was truly ready to make that piece of land turf, they most likely would make the change. Getting a turf field could be very good for recruiting baseball players;, however, the baseball team does very well as they are and has won multiple championships in the last decade. It is a tough decision because obviously all current players would love to have a turf baseball field, but of course it is up to the higher ups of SCH and the alumni of CHA.