By George Donahue
Watertown Resident
Forward
While I wrote this in the spring 2014 when living in Watertown at the Coolidge Apartments, the stories in and around baseball never go out of style. The story was published in the Watertown Tab when I wrote it and I worked in the Clerk’s office in the town hall. The director of the Parks and Recreation at that time came rushing into the Clerk’s office waving the paper in the air asking if I authored the article. I acknowledged that it was me who penned the article, expecting to feel the newspaper bop me off the head, but instead he thrust hand out, said it was a good article and walked out of the clerk’s office.
In July of 2025, my wife Jeanne and I returned to Watertown and moved back into the Apartments at the Coolidge School. An over 55 community and after the snow melted I found yet another baseball which was buried under the snow.
Ground Ball
With the first day of spring arriving soon and the mounds and mounds of winter are finally shrinking, there was evidence of grass emerging in spotty areas around the Apartments at the Coolidge School. Sullivan Park is no longer crusted with white but soon the field will be ready to take on the All-American game of baseball.
Spring training had already begun, with the first game March 19 against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers. And opening day for the Red Sox in Cincinnati is Thursday, March 26th is just around the corner. Here in Watertown, we wait for the season to begin. The residents at The Coolidge School get the bleacher seats facing Sullivan Park when the time comes to watch the local games unfold.
Let me explain, the bleacher seats I refer to is the grand stairwell of the Coolidge School which faces the baseball field. As I wheeled by the stairwell with my dog Butchie, an adopted Deer face Chihuahua getting up in his years he discovers the sign we were looking for. Butchie was so happy to finally see grass after looking at piles of snow and nowhere to go.
Most resident pet owners ran into the same problem. I bought a scoop and rake at Home Depot to start cleaning up the mess other dogs have left around the property. Doing this from a wheelchair is not an easy task.
As the snow melts, we find more undiscovered remnants of the winter. Butchie and I scooped up about eight pounds of the stuff in one hour. All of this was not his of course. It would take a Chihuahua his size an extraordinarily long time to accumulate eight pounds. After we cleaned up the grass, Butchie began his inspection of every blade of grass he could find and then he stopped dead in his tracks.
We were staring at an archeological find which was buried under the glaciers of the past winter. It was a sign of things coming. Here half buried in the dead leaves and half frozen earth a globe of worn rawhide held together with red thread sat exposed next to the grand stairwell bleacher seats. It was ‘The Ground Ball.’
One could only wonder whether it was the last foul ball during the last game between teams in August. Was the sound of Louisville Slugger tapping the rawhide orb in an awkward position or was it the metallic ‘ting’ sound of an aluminum bat that launched this little Sputnik in our direction? Maybe it was a dad with his young child posts eason practicing a pitch and a swing that sent this threaded globe into its final resting place? I know that this “Ground Ball” ball has history attached to it.
Even though Sullivan Park is not a dog park, there are conscientious people in the area that give their dog a run around the bases now and then and pick up their dog’s waste, but then there are others who just … well you know.
In the spring I know groups go along the Charles to do river cleanup, but I would like to see dog owners who use Sullivan Park as a dog park, which it is not, and use the grounds at the apartments of Coolidge School as a dog park, which it is not, get together some Saturday, grab some bags and let’s clean up the mess after the snow is gone.
None of us want to see some kid slide into home plate during a game and land in a mound of … I certainly do not want to roll my wheelchair in a mound. These “mounds” left behind could cost you a $25 fine. There should only be one mound on a ball field, which is one mound which is priceless. It is located between home plate and third base. It is called the pitcher’s mound.
About the Author
GJ Donahue is an acrylic paint artist, photographer, videographer, hosted his own cable show “From Where I Sit,” storyteller and writer of children’s stories, mysteries, science fiction, and other genres. He worked in programs helping young adults with disabilities learn coping skills in today’s society. He lives in Watertown with his wife Jeanne