For more than two decades Visalia's Babe Ruth Baseball League has taken to these fields to provide hard-hitting fun for local 13 to 15 year olds. But in the last five years player participation has dwindled. Five years ago there were 14 teams. Now, there are six.
Visalia Youth Baseball President Robert Fletcher says the young teenagers now have more options and more activities that compete with their league.
"Choices that the kids have its either football and some of the football coaches don't let them play baseball and the high school coaches now have high school summer programs," Fletcher said.
Earlier this week, Fletcher decided to cancel this year's Babe Ruth season. Only 16 players had signed up and the league didn't have enough volunteers. But people like Rey Valverde, stepped up to the plate.
"I've been an umpire for 19 years and on the board in Visalia so I'm looking forward to carrying on this tradition and making it a great program," Valverde said.
The league still faces numerous challenges. The Babe Ruth teams lost their practice space because of renovations at Mt Whitney High School this summer.
Organizers hope the league can now use the field at Royal Oaks Elementary instead.
From now until mid-May, when the season begins, organizers will be actively trying to sign kids up to reach the league minimum of 72 players. And this year Babe Ruth may start recruiting kids from out of town.
"We are in talks with Kingsburg has already asked us to schedule some of our games with them we've talked with Hanford and Tulare so we can play games with them also," Valverde said.
The Babe Ruth League has also lowered its enrollment price this year to $75 to try and make it more affordable for families.
