I was curious to see what would become of Al Lang Field now that spring training baseball is no longer taking place. Yesterday I found my answer.
Al Lang Field remains eternally ready for baseball, even if there is no baseball, thanks to Jason Hess, The Lone Groundskeeper.
-snip-
"It's still kept game ready," he says.
He shrugs.
"Just in case."
The story goes on to say that Hess keeps the gate open, and people stop in all the time.
I've talked to a few people about this, and they all said it was kind of "sad" that the field was perpetually kept in game ready condition. I would say the opposite is true. It would be much sadder to see that beautiful field go untouched and unmanicured, left to rot in the Florida sun.
It’s been touched on many times before, but any baseball fan who lives/lived in the St. Petersburg area undoubtedly has their own special memories of Al Lang. Personally, I’ll never forget all the times my Dad took me there when I was a kid, watching the Cardinals play and telling me about all the high jinx he used to pull there some 50 years ago when HE was a kid.
If you find yourself in downtown St. Pete anytime soon I'd advise you to make your way to Al Lang. It's a piece of baseball history. See it while you still can.
via www.baseballpilgrimages.com
