Ewa’s Popular Batter’s Box Closing, May Also Close Historic Pride Baseball Field
http://www.battersboxhawaii.
BATTERSBOX BATTING CAGES WILL BE CLOSING.
LAST DAY OF OPERATIONS WILL BE OCT. 19, 2014
Todd Koishigawa and his father maintain the very popular Ewa Pride Baseball Field by themselves at their own expense, because the City stopped maintaining it several years ago.
Ewa West Oahu has produced top championship baseball teams over the years and most have their practice and game history through Pride Baseball Fields. Koishigawa and his father have brought top baseball training events to the field allowing local West Oahu kids exposure to professional baseball player expertise and advice.
Originally in a professional baseball configuration during WW-II, it was later converted into a four field clover leaf configuration to support Little League and soft ball teams. Baseball fields in West Oahu are in very high demand due to very limited availability and the City’s long time failure to build more of them or even keep up the very popular and heavily used Pride Field.
A little known fact is that during WW-II a US Marine F4-U Corsair fighter pilot played baseball there when military leagues were very popular. This person was baseball legend Ted Williams of the Boston Red Socks, playing for Fleet Marine Force Pacific which was then based at MCAS Ewa Field. Ted Williams ranks with the most famous baseball players of all time!
Losing the Batters Box would be a huge loss to the local community because they not only keep the Pride Baseball Fields open and maintained, they also provide the only indoor baseball batting practice facility in a nearby WW-II Quonset hut that used to provide cargo and maintenance facilities for the Naval Air Transport Service. This later became offices for the Barbers Point MWR (Special Services) during the 1980’s and 90’s.
The local community is highly encouraged to do everything they can to help this important community resource remain by Pride Fields and keep them open for the various league teams that play there. This includes Little League and various adult teams. The Batter’s Box is also very helpful in keeping an eye on the area to reduce looting crime and illegal dumping, which is a constant Kalaeloa problem.
Pride Baseball Fields are located right off of Roosevelt Avenue near historic Varona Village and the Hawaiian Railway Society museum. Just look directly across from all of the historic old train cars and engines- and THAT’s Pride Field and the former MCAS Ewa Field air base.
John Bond
Ewa Historian
