Salinas Little League teams works to change Closter Park reputation

Baseball season is underway and one little league game is getting more attention for where it’s being played than the game itself. That’s because of parent concerns about safety at one local field. Closter Park is the home field for the Salinas Nationals Little League team.

Over the past few years they’ve had trouble getting other teams to play here because of East Salinas’ reputation of violence. Parents are specifically concerned about Closter Park.

On Tuesday night, the opposing team decided to change that trend. It’s the first time the Ferrasci Little League team played there in three years.

NewsChannel 5 spoke with both teams and both admit there is a stigma attached to playing there. But both also admit it’s an image that needs to change.

“We would get ready for the game and then last minute parents would text me that their kid was sick. And I think it was because people thought of Closter Park or they hear of the east side. So they automatically think danger. They don’t think little league, there’s kids that play all over here,” Ferrasci player agent Devon Corpus said.

“As you can see when we are here, there are families out here. It’s filled with kids and baseball. That’s what it’s all about. It’s for the kids,” Salinas Nationals president Marisela Mendoza said.

Moving forward, team leaders said it’s more important to work together and make sure the kids have games to play.