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Little League Field Gets Boost From Rays

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By TOM BRENNAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

BRANDON - Zac Saylor's preparation started the night before.

The 10-year-old insisted his mother buy a new baseball in hopes of getting Scott Kazmir's autograph when the Tampa Bay Rays pitching ace visited the South Brandon Little League field Thursday.

Kazmir and a number of team officials made an appearance at the field at 600 S. Parsons Ave. to announce the team's charitable foundation plans to donate money to help refurbish the facility.

Zac and many other local Little League players hoped to get Kazmir's signature, but most had to settle for group photographs.

That didn't dampen Zac's enthusiasm, though.

"It's awesome," he said. "This is going to help our field."

Since 2006, the Rays' charity arm, the Tampa Bay Rays of Hope Foundation, has provided funds to renovate Little League fields around the Bay area. South Brandon was one of two fields selected from nine applicants this year.

Suzanne Murchland, the Rays' community relations director, said the foundation was impressed by the support shown for the Brandon league.

"We knew we had a committed group of volunteers who would work with us and would maintain what we did so it could benefit the kids for years to come," she said.

The foundation will provide funds to rebuild the infields with 200 tons of clay and two tons of clay conditioner, replace the infield sod, backstop, perimeter fencing and bleacher roofs, improve the dugout drainage and apply fertilizer and weed control to the grass.

Ken Rulli, the youth league's interim president, said the work would be "huge."

The South Brandon Little League has more than 400 youngsters ages 5 through 16 playing on 36 teams at the facility across Vonderburg Drive from the Brandon Regional Library.

Zac's mom, Kim Saylor, said the Rays' contribution is as important for the parents as the kids. "We have one of the older parks, and it is hard to raise enough money to do things like this," she said.

Kazmir told the assembled young players he practiced and competed on similar fields growing up in Houston.

"They were everything for me," he said. "I was always at the field, and having a great field makes it even more special."

Dan Moeller, the Rays' head groundskeeper, will oversee the work.

"We ask the people to come to our games, so it is important that we could help out where we can," he said.

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 657-4528 or tbrennan@tampatrib.com.

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