Dec 11, 2008 by brian

Mini Ebbets Field

Wiffle Ball can be played just about anywhere. The backyard, park or at the beach are some of my favorite spots to play. I’m sure anyone with a fondness for wiffle ball has their own special spot.

Sportsvite member Tom Hannon didn’t just find a favorite spot, he built one! Little Ebbets Field is modeled after the real Ebbets Field (1/4 the size). Although the field is in Amesbery, Massachusetts, he chose Ebbets Field because so many people had built replicas of Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. (According to Tom, the best Little Fenway park belongs to Pat O’Conner in Essex, Vermont.)

When Tom first started building the field, he didn’t realize what he was getting himself into. As Tom says “The task was one where I think most people would of quit, the materials and effort was a challenge to say the least. I built it myself, other then an excavator to remove the dirt and a landscaper to do a handful of things. I completed it in August we had alot of fun out there we only wish summer was eternal.” To complete the field, Tom used 250 bags of concrete, over 50 4×4 posts, 50 sheets of plywood, 40 sheets T-11, and 50 pounds of screws and nails.

Tom firs attempted to build a wiffle ball field at his previous residence. That field was decent, but it was slopped down hill, had a deck in the way, various tree’s and homers to right field went into a retaining pond which was pretty messy. So in the Summer of 2007 he decided to look for a new home and the home had to have the land he we could build a field. Not just some bases and a wire fence but the ability to build true field. After looking at 42 homes he finally found one that worked inside and out.

Tom loves wiffle ball because he see the sport as the great equalizer. Kids from 13 to 60 can play and he mentions “Seeing I am closer to 60 then 13 the game made sense. I played of course when I was a kid. I cant say I swung a Wiffle Ball Bat more then a dozen times between 1990 and 2004. Then the kids started playing so we started getting into it again.” Check out the Wiffle Ball ground rules for Mini Ebbets Field.

Tom is about to publish an ebook called Wiffle Ball 101. Tom couldn’t find a great book about Wiffle Bal so he took a shot on writing one. In the book he reviews pitching, hitting, tournaments, field building and the different equipment.

If you’re ever near Amesbery be sure to hit Tom up to play a game of Wiffle Ball at Mini Ebbets Field. Even if you’re not, join the Mini Ebbets Field community on Sportsvite.