Jason Kidd has heard all the "Field of Dreams" references. That's because the Ohio man -- not the former NBA player -- built a baseball field in the backyard of his Brookfield Township home.
Thousands of people online," Kidd told WKYC when asked how many people reference the iconic 1989 baseball movie starring Kevin Costner. "'If you build it he will come.' All that stuff."
The voices Kidd heard did not come from a cornfield, however. They were the pleas of his son, who pleaded with his father two years ago to build a baseball field.
"I kind of blew him off, and then a couple (of) days later I was thinking about it. I went out and did some measuring," Kidd told WFMJ. "Next thing I know, I'm having trees removed, and then a hill removed, and now there is a baseball field here."
Kidd calls the field "the Re-Jake," a nod to Jacobs Field, the former name for the Cleveland Indians' baseball stadium (now Progressive Field), WKYC reported.
Kidd's field is not a full-sized baseball layout, but it is perfect for Wiffle ball and for his son to learn how to play the game. The boy had broached the idea of a field while playing T-Ball with his father. When Kidd put the finishing touches on his backyard field two years later, he knew he made the right decision.
"You should have seen his face light up when they put the clay down and the red top dressing," Kidd told WFMJ. "I mean he just lit up. It was great."
Building a baseball field was not cheap. Kidd said he spent $30,000 to build it, WKYC reported.
"Probably not the best financial decision, but it's baseball," Kidd told the television station.
More work needs to be done.
"(I'm) still going to put up a fence, some foul poles and lighting," Kidd told WFMJ. "The lighting will be temporary."
One might think having a big baseball field in a backyard might bother the neighbors. While one anonymous caller was concerned about runoff from the field, Brookfield officials do not see a problem with Kidd's "stadium."
"I'll be quite honest with you, I don't know if we had zoning if we'd want to prevent it. What a great thing," Brookfield trustee Dan Suttles told WFMJ. "When I was a kid we used to have to find a vacant field to play on if we wanted to play baseball."
Now, when Kidd's son asks his father if he wants to have a catch, he can take a few steps out of his house and onto a well-manicured field.
"It's nuts," Kidd told WKYC. "But here we are. I love it."
About the Author
