FIELD OF dreams By Joe Novella Photos Gary Sissons
I
f you find yourself going past CB Wilson Reserve, Mornington, in the upcoming summer months, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve somehow ended up in suburban USA. You might be picking up some fish and chips, or on your way to Fishermans Beach for a swim, when you hear the thwack of bat on ball; but instead of turning around to see a field full of cricketers, you're met with a scene straight out of the movie 'Field of Dreams'. CB Wilson Reserve is the home of the Mornington Pirates Baseball Club. The club was founded by Paul Simmons in 1975 but never really found a permanent home until the late 1970's when the council agreed the club could set up their home base at CB Wilson Reserve. It was a hard slog for the Pirates in the early days, "We had two timber, leaky-roofed sheds about 4.0m by 2.4m which served as a store and change room," said Paul. "No toilets either. The oval was too small for two games but we still used it for two games with outfielders facing each other. It's a miracle no one ever got hit in the back."
E ssence
10 | PENINSULA
January 2022
But, despite all the challenges, a core group of people who were passionate about having a baseball club on the Peninsula managed to ‘build it’ and, just like in the movie, the players came to play. Through the hard work of those early club members and the generosity of local businesses, two baseball diamonds were put in place in the late 1970's and permanent netting erected. In 2002, the club's permanent clubroom was opened and CB Wilson Reserve finally felt like home. From just a handful of players in the first few years of their existence, the Mornington Pirates Baseball Club now fields 11 teams, 110 players in total, and is looking to grow. "During the winter season, we have six senior teams, a women's team and four junior teams," said Jo Schutt, a coach of the Pirates juniors. "Our junior teams are predominantly boys, but girls also play in the junior competition and are then able to join the women's competition once they turn 13. A lot of our junior boys start playing a second game in the seniors once they turn 14, which is also a great milestone for them. This creates a fantastic mix of ages and abilities in our men's and women's baseball teams, with players ranging from 13 into their 50's; it provides a great development path for our juniors.