Why does the ball take a bad hop @ Moncada’s Baseball Field?

••Thursday•, 16 •August• 2018 09:16• ??EPSCadmin??
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LOCAL SPORTS HISTORICAL NEWS

Why does the ball take a bad hop

@ Moncada’s Baseball Field?

By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central

“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”

For well over 70 years, many a faithful fan sat in the bleachers at the famed historic Ft. Duncan Baseball Park now known as Moncada’s Baseball Field witnessing first hand some of the very best games ever played throughout South Texas.

Year in and year out these loyal fans witnessed hundreds of then young baseball players showcase their baseball skills at this historic baseball field. Throughout the past 70 years these then young baseball players provided these loyal fans with some truly memorable offensive and defensive plays as well as some legendary pitching performances from several of the very best pitchers in the history of Eagle Pass, Texas baseball.

Legendary town teams, high school teams Babe Ruth League teams as well as professional baseball teams from La Liga del Norte de Coahuila, Mexico such as La Consolidad better known as “La Concha” and Los Pericos de la Aduana have played in this historical baseball field throughout its glorious history.

Throughout the past 70 years at this historic baseball field at least once or twice per week something very peculiar occurs during these games played there. For some unexplainable reason even routine ground balls that are hit between the present day pitcher’s mound and second base suddenly take a funny bounce which drove coaches furious and puzzled as well as the faithful fans in the bleachers as these seemingly routine ground balls would result into base hits and errors due to these mysterious bad hops.

Perhaps the following can help solve the mystery of these unexplained bad hops:

April 16, 1947

“Prissy” a then worth $25,000 six old Quarter Horse that held the then world record for 350 yard races had won show honors in Texas and Arizona was buried in the center of the infield at the then known Ft. Duncan Race Track.

Prissy was killed during the running of the Wainwright Derby at Ft. Duncan Race Track when she swerved and crashed into the Track fence and a broken rail pierced her heart. Wayne Ewing of Coleman, Texas was her owner.

Jockey Carl Ewing was riding Prissy in the Derby and was fatally injured in this accident. He was hurled 40 feet beyond the horse’s head and died twelve hours later at Maverick County Hospital of collapsed lungs and concussion.

The champion Mare, sired by “Colonel Clyde” off of “Dutch” had been racing for four years. She set a new then world record for 350 yards at El Paso in 1945 when she won the El Paso Derby with a time of 18.2 seconds.

This was the first tragedy to occur at Ft. Duncan Race Track since its opening in 1941. Eagle Pass’ five day Spring Quarter Horse Meet was in full swing with hundreds of out of town visitors and more than 250 of the nation’s top Quarter Horses were present for this grand event. Prissy was rated as one of the top Quarter Horses in the nation.

When the original Ft. Duncan Baseball Park now known as Moncada’s Baseball Field was renovated quite a few years back, home plate, pitcher’s mound and the entire infield were moved closer to the present day grandstands. So Prissy’s burial site is currently located between the present day pitcher’s mound and the second base position.

Guess we now have solved what caused those bad hops. It was Prissy helping the home team. For those of you who will be keeping a scorebook during the baseball games at the upcoming Babe Ruth League 14 year old division World Series please do not give the second baseman an E4, unofficially you should score it as an EP. (Error on Prissy)