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 Photos of Olympic Park North
Rightfield from home plate,
without 2004 renovations.
Centerfield from home plate,
without 2004 renovations.
Foul pole built and installed in
June 2004.
Photo of left field baseline being
painted using string, wooden boards and marking
paint.
A view down left field, with the
foul pole standing 26 feet above ground
level.
Field Diagram
History of
Improvements/Renovations:
Spearheaded by the lofty goals of rookie
Sean Bock and veterans Derek
Nelson and Josh Platek, a
hodgepodge gang of AWAers have combined forces in the
likes of which have never been seen.
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The
paint in
question.
-DEREK
NELSON |
The three, accompanied at the time by Matt
David(where did Matt go?), first
ventured to The Home Depot, where they purchased two
corresponding PVC poles measuring thirteen feet.
They also bought gutter covers that would later be
fashioned on the foul pole. Spending only about
twenty dollars, they made their way out with the two
poles, the gutter covers, and a seemingly endless supply
of paint.
"I really thought we had enough
paint. Man, I was way off," said
David. "It was like that one time I tried to guess
the gender of a hooker we saw."
Added
David, "wayyyyyy off. My eye still
hurts."
The next day, Nelson took the Premium
Rust-Oleum gloss protective enamel(superior coverage and
durability), and painted the foul poles and the gutter
covers yellow. A few days later, he attached the
plastic gutter covers using a metal pop-lock system,
which basically nails them on.
"I can pop and
lock with the best of them," said Nelson. "Bring
it on, Timberlake."
Then comes the tricky and
rather covert portion of the mission. Around the
stroke of midnight on Wed. July 16, Bock, Bryan
Ganek, Nelson and Platek had a stroke of
genius. They decided to visit the park, foul poles
blaring, and renovate the Arlington Heights Park
District property without running the risk of police
detainment.
"It was still kind of scary," said
Ganek. "My knees were trembling, like that one
time Tanya Harding's boyfriend hit me in the back of the
knee with a bat. Man, I sure miss figure
skating."
Added Ganek after a slight awkward
pause, "about as much as I miss watching Bears
games. And working on cars. And going
bow-hunting. Yeah, that type of shit is
cool."
Bock ascended a ladder to attach the left
field foul pole. Nelson then vandal ized
painted the whole pole yellow, while Platek scanned the
road for the possible 5-0 visit.
"Yeah, I know
what you're thinking," said Platek. "Six feet four
and a giant head isn't exactly CIA material, eh?
Yeah, it is hard to be a good spy when you're
this big. But we didn't get caught, did
we? Did we?"
Platek continued asking
himself such rhetorical questions throughout the night,
like "don't you think it's weird that the foul pole is
actually in fair territory?"
With the American
flags attached, the boys drove off into the sunset--
actually, probably the sunrise-- with a sense of
accomplishment. But they were not finished
yet.
The next day, after devouring a two-hotdog
meal from neighboring Jimmy's, Bock and Nelson painted
base paths using two boards, a rather long strand of
string, five cans of marking paint, and sheer
determination. They left the field two hours
later, leaving behind them beautifully symmetrical
baselines, markings for all plates, and a batters'
box.
They later returned on the field to
play a exhibition night game with a bunch of weird,
older guys. Many bats were thrown and arguments
had, but thankfully none over whether a ball was fair or
foul.
Future plans for renovations include
outfield length markers, an 3x5 American flag in center,
and advertisements covering the walls. No word yet
on bullpens, bleachers, lighting, or
dugouts.
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