Simi's oldest youth sports league has historic Opening Day
Home fields will get long-awaited renovations
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SWING AWAY- Julian Escobar, 10, gets ready to hit it out of the park during practice before the Phillies' first game of the season against the Cardinals during Opening Day for Santa Susana Baseball. The season kicked off with some good news delivered by park board member Gene Hostetler, at right, who announced that the district would be spending $175,000 to renovate Houghton Schreiber Park, where players in the 46-year-old league have played for decades.

The oldest youth sports league in Simi Valley is about to get a facelift.

The Santa Susana Baseball program, which started in 1962, got a welcome surprise on Opening Day Saturday at Houghton Schreiber Park when Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District board member Gene Hostetler announced that the league's home fields will undergo $175,000 in renovations.

"This is absolutely huge for Santa Susana," said league president John O'Toole. "To have this cooperation and dedication from the parks and recreation department . . . is just enormous. It's greatly needed, and it's something that's going to be terrific for all the kids that play there from now on and into the future."

Photo courtesy of Shelley McLain

With the money, the PONY ("Protecting Our Nation's Youth") league hopes to build concrete walkways between the fields, replace aging bleachers, rebuild dugouts and perhaps add security lighting. Around 300 youngsters play for Santa Susana Baseball.

"We have a good partnership," Hostetler said. "I enjoyed giving them the good news. . . . It's always great to be at Opening Day ceremonies."

The park district owns the four fields at Houghton Schreiber Park, but the league also plays on a Shetland field on the Township Elementary School campus and a PONY field at Valley View Middle School.

Both of those fields are owned by the Simi Valley Unified School District and are adjacent to Houghton Schreiber Park. Santa Susana Baseball leases the fields and helps maintain the grounds.

The fields are expected to be refurbished after the season ends in June. O'Toole said he hoped the work- the most extensive in the history of the fields- will be finished in time for the start of the fall season.

Aluminum bleachers will replace a hodgepodge of aging wood and aluminum seating. O'Toole is especially pleased with the concrete walkways.

"It's all dirt right now," said O'Toole, whose triplet daughters and son play for Santa Susana Baseball. "The concrete's going to make it a clean, nice environment."

On Saturday, the league commemorated its history with the city by honoring 25 "legacy players"- those who played in the league and now have children or younger family members involved- and inviting six past Santa Susana Baseball presidents. Eight members of the 1998 Pinto World Series championship team also took part in the first pitch.

"All of these leagues are nonprofit organizations, and the entire board is in agreement that we need to do all we can to help them all out," Hostetler said.

"It's our facilities, but it's their fields. . . . We're in the business for recreation and for the kids. If we can help all these leagues like we're trying to, it's a win-win situation for everybody."