SISD settles on names for new baseball/softball complex
(Seguin) — Spring can’t come fast enough for the new Matador Legends Ballpark.
The name for the new Seguin High School Baseball/Softball Complex was unanimously approved last night by members of the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees. The name was chosen from a pool of community nominations. Making the motion to move forward with the name was District 7 Trustee Josh Bright.
Even though the district had plenty of names to choose from, Bright says he felt the name Matador Legends Ballpark included all those who played or contributed to the sport.
“With the naming of the complex Legends Ballpark, we want to come up with an idea of plaques representing these people who have been the legends of Matador Baseball. I know we have talked about a plaque for the whole team for the 1960s State Champs. They are going to get their own plaque to begin with – to begin with. We are looking at the sides of the dugouts for putting the plaques up and then any other places. It’s going to be legendary,” said Bright.
While the name of the complex is designed to honor all the great players, trustees voted to independently name both the baseball and softball batting cages. The complex comes complete with a hitting area for each program. Those areas now include the Chloe Belicek Softball Batting Cages and the Manuel Rodriguez Baseball Batting Cages. Despite appearing on the agenda as the naming of the baseball and softball fields, trustees were forced to strike out the word field and amend it with batting cages. District 5 Trustee Denise Crettenden explained the decision.
“I can’t speak for everyone but I know that we were looking at really the fields belonging to everyone – the whole complex belonging to everyone but we wanted to make sure and highlight these two important people and the thing that came to my mind was that all that effort, all the work that no one ever sees – it’s not the homerun – it’s not all those things that everyone sees. It’s those hours and hours of hard work and dedication. That’s what I think of when I think of Chloe and so many of the stories that I have been told about her and I just thought that was perfect and I felt that way about Mr. Rodriguez as well. It’s the hours of dedication behind the scenes that people don’t see that lifts up the team and lets you bring that A game, and I think that setting that example of the hard work in the background is just a wonderful way to honor them,” said Crettenden.
Chloe Belicek, of course, would have been a senior at Seguin High School. However, a tragic accident over the summer claimed her life. Belicek was a star player for the Matador Softball team and a top athlete on the SHS volleyball team. Manuel “Pee Wee” Rodriguez is best remembered for helping to begin both the Seguin High School and Seguin Little League fast-pitch softball programs. For more than 15 years, Rodriguez coached youth in the Little League softball and baseball programs. He also played for the SMI Steelers, the Seguin White Sox, and the Seguin Aztecs. Most notably, he served in the U.S. Air Force and is a member of the Seguin High School Wall of Honor.
Crettenden says the board has also given the okay to honor and remember some of the other well-known players whose names were also submitted for consideration.
“Three of the plaques that we want to highlight are for Mr. Patek and for Mr. Hartenstein and then for that state team from 1960 that we heard so much about at that last regular meeting and I feel like that is just a start. I think we are going to hear more about people who have made a difference and so, putting those plaques at the dugout or wherever exactly they end up being, I think it gives us a space to tell those stories and to just really honor these people that we are starting with. But it is just a starting point,” said Crettenden.
Chuck Hartenstein, a professional baseball player from Seguin, had a full career in the sport, playing for teams such as the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Freddie Patek was also a Major League Baseball player from Seguin who is known for his lengthy career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and California Angels.
Crettenden says Belick, Rodriguez, Hartenstein and Patek were again only a handful of the names nominated for the new sports facility.
“It was really hard. People forwarded wonderful names and even after the second nomination process was over, people still had wonderful ideas and I think that just not with baseball/softball – I said this when we named the Jack Lee Learning Center – I think we haven’t named things after people in a long time and I think there is a chance to honor some of the people who really have impacted this community over the last 50 years. I think there is a gap. We have some naming to do and so I hope that we will open up some more processes to name some things after some of the wonderful people who have made the Seguin ISD what it is,” said Crettenden.
The new Matador Legends Ballpark awaits an official grand opening in January. The voter-approved facility currently sits on the south end of the Seguin High School campus.