Mueller Park to be dedicated prior to Brewer game Sunday

NEW ULM -- This Sunday, May 19 will be a very special day for New Ulm as Mueller Park will be officially dedicated in a short ceremony prior to the 2 p.m. New Ulm Brewers - Stark amateur baseball contest.

Prior to the game, Al Mueller, who donated $500,000 which initiated the project, will be honored along with the mayor of New Ulm, Arnold Koelpin, members of the New Ulm City Council, the New Ulm American Legion and all people who were involved in the project.

And for Mueller, a retired New Ulm attorney, the ceremony will be a culmination of a dream that Mueller and retired New Ulm City Manager Richard Salvati had years ago.

"Mr. Salvati was very instrumental to this," Mueller said. "At the time that this was thought of, I was then acting City Attorney which is quite a long time ago. He told me that there was some land by the Artstone site and the former New Ulm Elevator (site). He said that we would like, some day, to see another baseball park there. And he asked me if, someday, I would do something to get that started."

Mueller, who loves the game of baseball, said that when the idea started to become a possible reality, he thought of how much himself and his family loved the game of baseball.

"Our entire family loved the game and loved New Ulm because of their love for baseball,' he said. So much so that Mueller's brother, Ed, had an early day "Field of Dreams" on his farm near Arlington.

"He had a baseball diamond on the farm back in the 1930's -it had all the things a baseball field has. It even had a backstop," Mueller remembered.

From there, Mueller thought that New Ulm should have another "Field of Dreams" to accommodate the players who continue to grow and love the game of baseball.

"I was very happy -- very proud -- to hear that the project was going to happen. Baseball has been a big part of my life."

There were baseball games played late year on Mueller Park and he said that he has heard "nothing but compliments from people about the park about how nice it is."

Fans from Forest Lake and Lakeville who saw their teams play on Mueller Park Friday night said that Mueller Park " was the nicest field that they have played on in two years.' One baseball coach from the area said that if Mueller Park is New Ulm's number two field "it is no wonder that baseball is and will always be New Ulm's game."

Players who have played on the field said that it is like playing "on a soft carpet."

On Sunday, Mueller, who will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, said that "it will be a dream come true. i will be very happy to see it come true."

"New Ulm is such a great baseball town and will continue to be and I am glad that I could be a part of it," Mueller said.

But he also gave a lot of credit to the work of a lot of other people on the Mueller Park project.

"The City of New Ulm, the City Council and local organizations like the American Legion, the Baseball Association - there are a lot of contributors to this project. They all went out and worked on this project -- nothing was given to them."

And on Sunday at approximately 1:55 p.m. Mueller, along with the Mayor and members of the City Council and the American Legion, will toss out the ceremonial first pitch. "I am ready to go - my arm is warmed up."

No matter where that first pitch goes, it will already have been a strike - right down the middle from a lot of people who worked hard on this project and from a man who truly loves New Ulm and the game of baseball.

And the dedication will also feature drawings for prizes donated by major league baseball teams as the Twins, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and others.

From the Giants, Dodgers and Rangers, there are autographed baseballs and from the Minnesota Twins there are three-four pac tickets for the lower level of your choice of upcoming Twins games. There will also be prizes donated by the New Ulm Baseball Association.

EAGLES STILL PERFECT: The New Ulm Eagles remained perfect on the season with a 12-6 win over Waseca Monday.

One of the players who continues to impress is shortstop Jamie Hoffmann. He entered Friday night's game with Park Center hitting an outstanding .630 and the thought was that the average will change. Well, it did. it went up. After going 3-for-4 against Park Center, Hoffmann was a perfect 5-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs. He is now hitting .694.

If anyone can show me a better all-around shortstop that Hoffmann (and that includes Minnesota-bound Matt Fornasiere of Maple Grove) I want to see him.

"One of Hoffmann's home runs went over the centerfield fence about 420 feet from home," said Eagles' coach Jim Senske who will see his team host Fairmont Thursday at 5 p.m. Isaac Forstner and Dusty Fleck also knocked home runs.

"The hitting is perhaps better than it was last year but we have not seen great pitching yet. We schedule three of the top Metro schools in hopes that we see quality pitching. But we have had weather problems. The game with Edina will be made up Saturday and we will also play Mounds View that same day. We will play Mounds View at Bethel at 1 p.m. and Edina at Braemar Field at 5 p.m. The Forest Lake and Lakeville games will not be made up."

Senske said that his team's pitching "needs to toughen up. So far, our hitting has probably carried us. Whether it can continue to carry us but whether it can continue to do that in the regional finals - pitching usually carries teams then."

But there is no doubt in my mind that the Eagles will win the Section 2-3A title and will surprise people in the state tournament.

LUX AT CONCORDIA Former New Ulm Cathedral athlete Casey Lux played third base for Concordia College of St. Paul and hit .280 and had a fielding average of .913 from his third base spot. Concordia finished their season at 18-12.

COMMITTEE ORGANIZES The New Ulm Post 132 Baseball Committee has begun organizing for their hosting the 2003 Central Plains Region. Carl Wyczawski and Gordy Palmer will co-chair the event with yours truly chairing the Publicity and Media Relations.

O'BRIEN NOMINATED FOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Dan O'Brien,. a senior at the University of Minnesota-Morris, has been nominated for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award from Morris.

Lee Brandel of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School has been nominated from Concordia University of St.Paul. To be nominated, the student-athlete must carry a 3.2 GPA or better and participation in athletics.