EAST LOS ANGELES : Diamond Dedicated to a Gem of a Coach

Field No. 1 at Belvedere Park will be renamed Joe Amaya Field today in honor of the longtime baseball coach who has been called the “Grandfather of East L.A.”

Amaya, 74, has coached baseball since he was a teen-ager and organized leagues that have endured as others faded, said Steve Frank of the County Department of Parks and Recreation. The idea for renaming the field came from park workers who have known Amaya over the years and wanted to honor him, Frank said.

“We felt it’s time to recognize someone who’s spent all these years working with youth in the community,” he said.

Amaya, who stopped coaching five years ago when he developed a heart condition, said he began with the simple goal of helping young people in his neighborhood. He has also coached football and basketball.

“When I first started to work with the kids, all I wanted to do was get them out of the streets and show that the Mexican players could be as good as anybody else,” he said. “They knew if they would follow the rules, they could play for my team.”

The hourlong ceremony will conclude with Amaya throwing out the first pitch to members of the Maravilla Men’s Baseball Assn., which he founded. An exhibition game will follow.

The ceremony is at 10 a.m. at the park, 4914 Brooklyn Ave.