A Diamond Is a Kid’s Best Friend : City Will Allow Little Leaguers to Practice on Field That for Years Had Been Set Aside for Games

For the first time in 30 years, Little League players from Huntington Park will be allowed to practice their throws, slides and catches on the most prestigious baseball diamond in the city.

In a 3-2 vote Monday night, the City Council overturned a longstanding rule that barred players from practicing on the largest and best-groomed field in the city: Diamond No. 4. Councilmen William P. Cunningham and Thomas E. Jackson dissented.

Diamond No. 4, the only one with a pitcher’s mound and 90-foot basepaths, has been kept exclusively for games. While it stood empty, young ballplayers had to board buses to practice in South-Central Los Angeles and other neighboring cities. More than 500 children play on Little League and city-sponsored baseball teams in Huntington Park.

Now, the 13- to 18-year-old players will be allowed to practice in the infield of Diamond No. 4. In an effort to protect the diamond and players in adjoining fields, no batting practice or pitching will be allowed. City officials can revoke practice privileges if the rules are not followed, the council decided.

“I see a need to allow the youth of the city to use the facility,” Councilman Richard V. Loya said. “You’re hogging a park when there is a great need. I’m really pleased with the decision.”

But he added: “We’re going to watch them like a hawk.”

Built in 1940 in Otero’s Fields on Florence Avenue, Diamond No. 4 has stood as a symbol that baseball can flourish despite increasing crime and gang activity.

Restricting practice on the diamond kept it beautiful in the past, said Jose Trujillo, sports coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department. “But we didn’t have a need back then.”

Trujillo said he turned away more than 100 children wanting to play baseball last year because of a lack of practice fields.

Councilman Luis M. Hernandez said the change in policy was long overdue.

“The issue is that we have a lot of young people who are having to practice outside their city when they can do it in the city they live in,” he said. “It only makes logical sense.”

At an earlier meeting, some city officials argued that a majority of Little League players were not city residents. But staff reports showed that 65% of the children signed up for Little League in the city are residents of Huntington Park.

The new policy has left many city officials and adult baseball players angry.

“My position is that Diamond 4 should be used for games only,” Cunningham said. “It will wear out the field. It’s probably the best baseball diamond in the whole Southeast section.”

But the council’s decision pleased Little League officials.

“I think it’s great,” said Rudy Comparan, president of Huntington Park Little League. “It’s going to benefit the kids, and obviously we don’t want to destroy the diamond. It’s the only good one we have.”

Comparan said Little League coaches and parents will supervise practices to ensure that only the diamond’s infield is used.

“If it doesn’t work out . . . the city can take the diamond away. But give us a chance first,” Comparan said. “These kids don’t have a lot of choices. If they’re not playing, maybe they’re in the streets. It’s one of their few choices for a good, straight life.”