These Diamonds Are a Fan's Best Friends

With the opening of Nationals Park creating so much buzz, we thought we would conduct an unscientific survey to see which area high school baseball fields offer the best ambiance for a game.

We checked in with veteran coaches in our major jurisdictions and leagues.

Anne Arundel County

Old Mill Coach Mel Montgomery, in his 30th season at the school, can rattle off unique features of many of the fields in his area. But he is partial to Arundel.

"It has a really nice scoreboard, they have pretty nice dugouts and the field is pretty level," he said. "Reachable fences. One of the neat things about baseball is it's probably the only sport that's played on a non-regulation field.

"Every time we go down there to play, we get pretty excited, and a lot of ex-players from both teams are usually there and get to talking to each other in the stands and start telling old stories about when they played. It's a tough, competitive game and a real friendly atmosphere."

DCIAA

The District is not particularly known for its baseball facilities. Wilson Coach Eddie Saah, whose team has won the past 15 league titles, likes when his team gets to play at Friendship Playground, at 4500 Van Ness St. NW, between Nebraska and Massachusetts avenues, as the Tigers have done for a few games this season.

"You can see everything from the top of the hill, maybe 20 yards behind home plate," Saah said. "The majority of people just stand up and watch the games."

Fairfax County

Westfield Coach Chuck Welch is proud of his facility, which will host the Virginia AAA championships for the next three seasons. But, as a Vienna resident, he thinks that Madison is the place to be for high school baseball in the Northern Region.

"I love that water tower in right field" that says "Home of the Warhawks," Welch said. "The sunken dugouts. The field has good dimensions. I love the small-town atmosphere. You know that when they're playing, a lot of the town comes out."

Howard County

Centennial Coach Denis Ahearn likes that fans of his team tailgate on a nearby hill at games. But to many Howard County high school baseball fans, the most distinctive -- or as Ahearn says, "infamous"-- high school field is probably Hammond, with its ultra-cozy dimensions.

"You could hit a pop fly and it goes out of there," Ahearn said. "The kids love going to Hammond. Your one and nine hitters, who usually aren't power guys, have an opportunity to touch all four bags. It's fun for them, but we as coaches try to keep them level-headed and tell them as soon as you start swinging for the fences, you're going to have troubles."

And what does he tell the pitchers?