By Carson Folio | Staff Writer

Following the installation of new outfield fences in 2024, the Northside Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) will add new padding and baseball flair on the fences at Jack Stack Field for the upcoming season.

The quality-of-life upgrades will be revealed at an opening day for the season on April 26, according to NBSA president Luke Garretson.

Garretson said the fence toppers will be yellow and black with each sponsor’s logo, to mimic the look of a typical professional baseball field.

As for the fences themselves, Garretson said it will create a whole new experience for the players.

“For a couple of fields, the outfield actually touched each other,” he said. “It kind of had this never-ending outfield.”

Brent Jackson, NBSA vice president, said the city installed the new fences last year with help from City Councilmember Bobby Wilson along with support from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both Jackson and Garretson expect around 150 to 200 players in the league for the regular season, which runs from April until June. Garretson said he expects practice to start during the first week of April, and the league will have six T-ball teams, two little league teams, two senior league teams and three softball teams this season.

The first preseason tournament games will occur April 12 and 13, then continuing April 21 and 23.

According to Garretson, the league has 13 sponsors lined up — many of which are local Northside businesses along California Avenue. He listed California Mini Mart, Goodrich and Geist and O’Brien’s Funeral Home as some examples among those sponsors.

Sponsors are vital to the NBSA both for the support of the organization as well as to help offset costs. Properly treating and caring for a baseball field can be expensive, Jackson said.

While sponsorship applications are closed until next year’s season, the association said they’re open to new sponsorships next year.

Additionally, the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to help the league with funding and sponsorships. Last year, the Pirates gave the NBSA a grant for installing the new outfield fences, along with donating lightly used baseball equipment to be used for the league.

Just like past seasons, the NBSA will participate in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Pittsburgh CitiSports league, along with other neighborhood teams.

With the new season upcoming, Garretson said the organization could always use more volunteers, considering it is completely volunteer run. Coaches, people running the concession stand, board members and more are all volunteer positions.

“Our volunteers are huge — we wouldn’t function without them,” Jackson said. “We have a good core group of people that are just amazing and generous, giving their time, their skills and their abilities.”

The NBSA introduced summer league play last year and intends to continue offering it. Additionally, the fall play season will stay, meaning the league will be playing games throughout October after the regular season ends in June.

With neighborhood sports leagues like the NBSA, Garretson said participation can vary based on how well the Pirates are doing to motivate people to join.

“Paul Skenes is certainly a bright spot, so you’ve got a lot more kids who want to try pitching because they see [Skenes] and what he’s done with his career and with his talent,” Garretson said.

Both Garretson and Jackson said baseball can teach valuable lessons for those who play, including what Garretson called “teaching kids how to be bored” because not every inning is action packed for each player.

Founded as the Brighton Heights Athletic Association (BHAA), NBSA has existed in the Northside since at least the 1980s — Garretson used to play for the league as a kid and Jackson’s own kids also play in the league.

Garretson hopes to bring the league back to how he remembers it when he was young, with neighborhoods such as Spring Garden and Troy Hill having their own teams that have long been disbanded.

“There’s an opportunity for us to reclaim that environment,” he said. “My interest is, how do we bring Northside Baseball back to as close as we can to what we’ve seen in the past in terms of registration?”

Updates on the NBSA season will be posted on the league’s website, northsidebaseball.org.