2 years after Bert Butler's death, his dream a mini-softball field for Burin kids is a reality

Youth softball in Burin is alive and well after a group of dedicated residents past and present built a new mini-diamond where kids under 11 can take their swings.

It's an area that is steeped in fast-pitch softball history buthad slowed down through the 1990s, said organizerMyrna Broydell, but the community is pushing itsway back to becoming a powerhouse.

On Tuesday the tiny diamond with outfield fences just 120feet away, about half the normal distancehad its grand opening. Full-sized parks are too large for kids to hit home runs out of, said Broydell.

"When you're little and you're on a big diamond, it's a big job," she said.

"It's hard you're getting these inside-the-parkers but it doesn't give these kids this jump that they need to really take them into the sport and really get into it."

The mini-diamond took five years of fundraising and planning, including a donation fromBert Butler, who died of cancer in 2020 but was a driving force behind the idea.

Butler was well known in the town as being among the best softball players from Burin ever to step onto the field.

Listen to the full interview from On The Go:

"He really, really wanted to give something back and he knew time was not what he had to give," saidBroydell, Butler's cousin by marriage.

"Bert was probably the best ball player to come out of Burin, maybe definitely out of our family. He was our ball hero. He is truly missed by everyone."

A fitting tribute

The only sign on the new ball field is hanging from itsbackstop, dedicated to Butler and his No. 13. He played all over Canada, including national tournaments at home and inAlberta, with a final season in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's.

Broydell said Butler's presence is still felt on the diamond.

"He was just leaps and bounds beyond all of us and he's been an inspiration to ball players in Burin since we was 16 years old," she said.

Organizers behind the mini-field say it's the first of its kind outside St. John's. It's sized forkids coming up through the ranks there are currently four divisions in Burin and learning the ropes of the sport.

Brooke Evanswas on the field Wednesday night as part of the first class of youngsters to hit the new space. She told CBC News she's excited to play on a smaller field which increases her chances of hitting a home run.

"I still haven't hit a home run yetbut it's smaller so I could," Brooke said.

Broydellsaid kids and aging ball players alike still speak often of Butler. She said he had plans to move home and coach in the minor softball program.

"He kept saying when he beatthis thing he was going to help coach. He was moving back to Burin from the city and he was going to help coach in this league and he was going to help with this diamond," she said.

"Older players got out of retirement and came back to play with Bert and the little ones still talk about him in our family. They all want to play like Bert."

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