For years Winchester Baseball has called Jim Barnett Park it’s home and each year from the T-ball Field to Rotary Field to Bridgeforth Field take to the field to play our national past time. Jim Barnett Park is located within the city limits of Winchester and provides fields and activities to area residents, but baseball fields and activities are at the heart and soul of the park. Winchester Baseball through it’s partnerships with the Parks and Recreation Division of the City of Winchester, Shenandoah University Hornets Baseball and Softball, Handley High School, and the Winchester Royals have worked to make the parks fields some of the best fields in the state of Virginia. No matter if a player is T-ball age or High School age, the park has a field to fit all levels.
Winchester Baseball has supported the park and community fields by working with our partners to keep the fields in prime baseball condition. However, the leagues efforts to make Winchester a great baseball destination has also led to press boxes being built at Henkle-Harris field, Rotary Field, and Yost Field. The league has built and maintains a seasonal concession stand that is solely operated by Winchester Baseball volunteers during the year that provides concessions for all activities in the park.
The quality of fields in Winchester have been a huge part of Babe Ruth baseball’s decisions to hold some of the top tournaments; including District, State, Regional, and World Series tournament play. In 2011 and 2014 the City of Winchester and Winchester Baseball were host to the Cal Ripken 10 Year Old World Series and most recently the Winchester Baseball hosted the Virginia Babe Ruth -9 Year Old Cal Ripken State Tournament. In addition to these prestigious tournaments, Winchester Baseball hosts one of the largest Memorial Day baseball tournaments in the region. The Showdown in the Valley Tournament has become one of the largest tournaments and best for teams from MD, WV, VA, and PA to come and showcase their teams as they prepare for a summer on the tournament trail. In 2015 over 60 teams took the field for three days of great baseball on what has become for many leagues an annual event.
In a continued effort to provide the best quality fields, the City of Winchester and Winchester Baseball have once again made efforts to improve the fields for the upcoming Spring 2016 season. During the early Spring of 2015, the T-ball field underwent an overhaul that vastly improved the playing surface for our youngest players and with that success the decision to make improvements to Henkle Harris field, Yost field, and Bodie Grimm Field only made sense.
Some of the work performed in the Fall of 2015 to prepare for the upcoming Spring 2016 season included:
· Henkle Harris Field received a completely new infield that includes a new turface/clay mix to provide improved drainage and the infield/outfield grass line was removed and new sod was introduced to better outline the infield play.
· Yost field was taken from an all Bermuda grass infield consisting of individual base cut outs and changed to a cool weather grass infield with a traditional baseball infield design. A new larger surface area for the pitching mound was added as well as an infield warning track.
· Bodie Grimm is currently undergoing the same re-design has Yost field to provide a better playing surface.
Over the course of the year, additional work will be performed by the Parks and Rec. staff to improve the dug outs on Bridgeforth field. Again all of this work could not be possible if not for the partnerships between users and the City of Winchester. An example is the work on Yost field, which was performed by the Park Staff in coordination with the Shenandoah University Hornets Baseball players who helped lay sod and build the new pitching mound.
*Winchester Baseball utilizes fields throughout the Jim Barnett Park and in some cases multiple age groups and divisions use the same fields. The following is a list of fields in the park, description, and age groups/playing divisions associated with the field. \
T-ball field – The T-ball field consists of a dirt infield and grass outfield serving players from ages 4 to 9 years of age across three divisions of play (Blast Ball, T-ball, and Machine Pitch). The field has multiple infield dimensions to accommodate the different groups with a 58’ and 60’ base path. The outfield fence ranges from 140’ down the right and left field lines to a 160’ center field distance.
Rotary field- The Rotary field is an all dirt infield and grass outfield serving players from ages 5 to 12 years of age across multiple divisions of play (T-ball, Machine Pitch, and various player pitch divisions). The field has multiple infield dimensions to accommodate the different age groups with a 60’ and 65’ base paths. The outfield fence features a 200’ distance at both corners and center field.
Yost field- The Yost field is a traditional baseball field, however the infield grass is a cool weather grass to help hold up against heavy play and colder weather, but the field additionally features a Bermuda grass outfield. The field serves players from ages 5 to 12 year of age and across multiple divisions of play (T-Ball, Machine Pitch, and various player pitch divisions). The field has multiple infield dimensions to accommodate the different age groups with a 60’ and 65’ base paths. The outfield fence features a 200’ distance at both corners and center field.
Henkle Harris field – The Henkle field as commonly called is a multi-purpose field featuring a dirt infield and cool weather grass outfield. This field can accommodate multiple age groups and divisions of play (T-ball, Machine Pitch, and various player pitch divisions.) The field has multiple dimensions to accommodate the different age groups from 5 to 12 year of age. Since this is a multi-purpose field, Winchester Baseball utilizes a portable pitching mound for its player pitch divisions including the 11 and 12 year old Major 70 Division that plays on a 70’ base path field. The field features a 225’ outfield fence at the corners and center field. This field is also home to the Shenandoah University Hornets and Handley High School Judges softball teams.
Eagles Field- Like Henkle Harris, Eagles field is a multi-purpose field that includes a dirt infield and grass outfield. Additionally a portable mound is used on this field for all player pitch games, but what makes Eagles field unique is the 300’ outfield fence distance.
Bodie Grimm field- The Bodie Grimm field is for the older players at the Babe Ruth Division and is home to the Handley High School Judges and Shenandoah University Hornets Baseball teams. The field features an all Bermuda grass field with a traditional infield base path cut out with 310’ right and left field fence distances and a daunting 365’ center field distance.
Bridgeforth field- Bridgeforth field is for the older players at the Babe Ruth Division and is home to the Handley High School Judges and Shenandoah University Hornets Baseball teams. However, during the summer months the field is home to the Winchester Royals. The field features a traditional cool weather grass field with traditional infield baseball design. The field plays like it looks, with a 310’ right and left field that is joined in the middle by a 375’ center field distance.