Baseball barrage is no bother

Ever have baseball-sized hail pelt your yard?

How about just baseballs?

Mark and Judy Chamberlain have. To them, College World Series time means it's time to cover the tomatoes.

Their house sits conveniently behind the left-field fence at Bellevue East's Roddy Field — the place where many College World Series teams practice during their Omaha stay.

And don't think the players taking BP at Roddy don't notice the home's proximity.

“Swing for the houses? I think that should be our motto, maybe,” said LSU second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

It takes a pretty good poke to reach the house, which sits roughly 425 feet from home plate. But the combination of strong athletes, aluminum bats and windy conditions often results in baseballs raining down around the Chamberlains.

The couple have lived in their gray split-level for eight years, and Mark said he can't count the number of baseballs that have landed in his yard during that time off the bats of players eager to show they can muscle up and reach his house.

“I think they see it as a challenge,'' he said. “But we don't mind. We like it, and so does everyone else here in the neighborhood.''

The balls provide a timeline for Mark, who usually keeps one ball from each team and writes down the date when it was hit. “We throw the rest back or give them to our grandkids,” he said.

The Chamberlains' house doesn't face the field, which is a good thing. There are no windows in danger, though the same can't be said for their swimming pool.

“We've had some land in there,'' Mark said. “Everybody who comes over here during a CWS practice pretty much knows what might happen.''

To reach the Chamberlains' house on St. Andrews Road, the baseball must carry over three obstacles. There is the left-field fence, a secondary fence about 15 feet farther back and then over Lincoln Road — Bellevue's equivalent of Waveland Avenue behind the left-field stands at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

There are many stories about the shots that have been hit at Roddy. One, told by nearby resident Mike Bailey, involves a former Arizona State player who went on to hit more major league home runs than anyone else.

“The longest homer I ever saw over there was hit by Barry Bonds back in the mid-'80s,'' he said. “He hit it to right field, way over the maintenance garage.''

Bailey's house, which is well behind the center-field fence, has been spared any horsehide bombings. But he agrees with Chamberlain when he says that the CWS practices are a big deal for the neighborhood.

“It seems like every year more people come down to see it,'' he said. “It's fun to see the fans get into it like that.''

A more recent story quickly gaining legendary status happened last week when the now-eliminated Cal State Fullerton players were taking batting practice. First baseman Jared Clark pounded one over the left-field fence that came up short of the Chamberlain house but nailed a secondary target — a passing car.

The ball shattered the windshield, and the driver, wearing an LSU cap, pulled over. He ran up to the field, asked Clark to autograph the ball and then drove off.

“I wasn't here that day, but we all heard about it,'' Mark Chamberlain said. “There's something about the College World Series that brings out the best in people.''

Chamberlain, who is retired from the Air Force and the U.S. Postal Service, often watches practices from the porch adjacent to his garage. He is usually joined there by friends, including fellow Air Force veteran and neighbor Jim Burns.

“This is a great spot to watch,'' Burns said. “Some days there are three teams out here at different times during the day, and they all put on a great show.”

Peter Soby, World-Herald video photojournalist, contributed to this report.

« Metro/Region

Share