Tyler Beck's Field of Dreams Needs TLC, Cooperation from Local Leaders

Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark was once a thriving baseball field. But it has gone from a field of dreams, as the weathered memorial plaque at the field proclaims, to a neglected field in need of attention from local leaders.

Tyler Beck was killed while riding his bicycle on San Marco Road on January 6, 1995, just six days shy of his twelfth birthday. Longtime Marco Island resident Denise McLinden-Theckston has vivid memories of that fateful day.

“Dear gosh,” said McLinden-Theckston, “this seems like yesterday. Tyler is the son of Ed and Beth Beck and brother of three sisters and one brother who lived on the island for many years. He was tragically struck by a car while riding his bicycle while crossing San Marco Road, on his way home from Mackle Park. His family was very involved in the community - especially with all of their children’s events. This accident truly brought our entire small town into mourning. Such a young, beautiful boy. The Beck family will always be so very special to so many of us. A finer, more loving family would be hard to find. They’re forever in our hearts.”

Prominent Marco Island real estate agent Jim Prange also remembers that day. His daughter Amber was best friends with Tyler.

“I just remember a great family before and after,” Jim Prange said. "You just knew Tyler was going to be an all-star. Great student, great athlete, and a lot of character-leadership for his young age.”

"Interesting fact,” Amber Richardson said, "the current location of Tyler’s memorial was not the first. The Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark was initially the baseball field at the YMCA, which is now a parking lot. I was encouraged when they kept his memorial stone and moved it to the field at Tommie Barfield, where I too played as a kid.”

Amber Richardson went on to become an instructor at Marco Island Academy when it opened in 2011. She rose to the position of assistant principal.

"The great loves and losses in our lives are forever etched in our hearts and minds,” Richardson said. "Tyler Beck is among those treasured individuals for me. He was brilliant in every way possible. He had a smile that would light up a room, a wit and sense of humor that was sharp, especially for someone his age. He excelled academically and was particularly gifted in math and science. He was always riding his bike and playing basketball with friends at Mackle Park. But his great love was baseball. The entire Beck family was a tremendous blessing to the Marco Island community. Mr. Beck was a pilot, Mrs. Beck was the epitome of a loving, devoted mother, and Tyler was second in a line of five children - Meghan, Tyler, Casey, and twins Scott and Sara. The dedication of the baseball field at the YMCA in Tyler’s name and honor was made official in a community celebration and picnic. It gave all of us who loved and missed Tyler a special place to remember his spirit and honor his legacy through the playing of a game he loved. I was encouraged when his memorial rock was relocated to the baseball field at Tommie Barfield. During my tenure as the assistant principal at Marco Island Academy, I always took a few moments to reflect on Tyler whenever I attended one of our team’s competitions at the field. A loss of any kind is difficult, but the loss of a life that was just beginning carries a unique pain. Tyler was a born leader and I often wonder what amazing impact he would have made on this world. But I guess for those of us who loved and knew him, it’s our responsibility to honor his legacy by making the most of the precious lives we’ve been given.”

Longtime YMCA, CEO Cindy Love, was still pretty new on the job at the time of the accident.

“I had just been here around a year,” Love recalls. “We had a baseball field where the north parking lot and pickleball courts are now. When they built the tennis courts, they had to have more parking. We had to do away with the ballpark. There was a small ballfield there. The community had raised money for a concession stand and to upgrade the ballpark. Baseball back then wasn’t really taking off. There weren’t a lot of kids, really. A lot of them went to Gulf Coast Little League. We asked the district, if the Becks agreed with it, if we could move the stone over to Tommie Barfield and make that the Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark. The plaque was on a big stone.”

Love was surprised that the plaque is no longer on a stone.

“It was pretty important,” Love said. “They used to come down to look at the plaque, as a memorial thing. We moved it over there in the early 2000s. Things like that you don’t want to forget. It’s a kid’s life and a family’s life. I hated that we did away with it, but I wanted to make sure we could name another ballfield after him. Tyler loved baseball. History is important. I wonder what his parents would say about it. You really want to honor their request." 

The fate of Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark was front and center at last week’s city council meeting after city staff informed city council that they didn’t have a use for the field anymore. A large contingent of Marco Island Academy leaders, faculty, students and supporters showed up in support of keeping the field for use by the island’s youth. Currently the MIA baseball and football teams use the field, along with Gulf Coast Little League.

Under the current interlocal agreement, an eight-page document that expires July 31, the school district agrees to lease to the city and the city agrees to lease from the district the leased premises for a term of ten years. The agreement can be extended or renegotiated upon its expiration. The district does not charge any fees to the city for the use of the leased premises provided that the cost of electricity arising from the city’s use of the premises continues to be separately metered and paid for by the city. In exchange, the city is responsible for repairs and maintenance of all improvements and facilities located on the leased premises with the exception of asphalt courts and security fencing and gates. Maintenance includes, but is not limited to, mowing, fertilizing, irrigating and turf repair. The city is required to schedule maintenance and repairs in coordination with the Tommie Barfield Elementary principal or designee. The city is also responsible for cleanup after each use. All repair and maintenance should be in accordance with city park standards and/or district, city, state, and federal legally required standards as appropriate and applicable.

The agreement also gives the city the right to replace or remove improvements and facilities on the leased premises, provided the district approves the replacement or removal in writing.

The current agreement allows the city to use the field and facilities after regular school hours and other school programs and events, Monday through Friday, until 10:00 PM, and on weekends, Saturday and Sunday, and also on days when school in not in session.

The concerned contingent from MIA at the May 2 city council meeting was delighted when city council showed strong support for not only continuing the interlocal agreement the city has with the school district, who owns the ball field, but also unanimously passed a motion to direct the city manager to reach out to the school district to renegotiate the lease agreement. The motion also directs City Manager, Mike McNees, to look at overall control, maintenance costs, future improvement and overall terms of the agreement.

Vice-chairman Jared Grifoni also urged McNees to have “an all-encompassing conversation including costs for lease and even would mind seeing what they’d value the entire field at for purchase.”

McNees recommended that an MIA representative be part of the negotiations with the school district.

MIA head baseball coach Lazaro Ferro has taken it upon himself to make improvements to the ballpark, which are significant. Ferro was involved with the youth of Miami as a longtime police officer there. He currently works with the Collier County Sheriff’s Department. He wants what’s best for the kids. His MIA team posted the first winning regular season in the school's 12-year history, finishing 10-9. They dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision in the district semi-finals when the game was called because of lightning with one Ray on first base and captain Joe Reisinger at the plate hoping to tie or win the game. Many of his players have a history with the field, as does one of his assistant coaches.

“A lot of these kids on the team came through Tommie Barfield,” Ferro said, “and now they’re in MIA. Shaun Chute attended and played baseball here. Now he’s one of our coaches. They need to understand that these same kids that are now doing physical education here are going to grow up in this community and be part of this community. This is not a one angle agenda. This comprises the entire community. We all benefit from it. Not only that, how are we representing Marco Island when people come in here from other schools to play us and this is what they see? What are they walking away with? Is the community and government caring for these kids and their citizens? These kids will remember the adults who looked out for them. That’s how you create change in a community and you get everybody involved and to be part of something special. And that’s what makes Marco Island special and unique from any other community. It’s not about whether people have higher incomes here. That has nothing to do with it. At one point this was a retirement community. Look at all the families that are here now with young kids. This is where you want to come. When I first came here on vacation and saw that kids can still ride a bicycle or their skateboard to school, and not have to lock it up, that meant a lot to me. That goes to show you that people are involved. People care. They’re investing in what they’re cultivating. It’s kids. That’s what it’s all about. In Miami you cannot leave things outside. It’s gone in minutes." 

When Ferro signed on as MIA’s head baseball coach this season, he rolled up his sleeves and did everything within his power to turn a scar into a star. And he’s made a lot of progress.

“We put fence wrap all around the fence to give it the look of a baseball field,” Ferro said. "We fixed the flagpole. We fixed some of the plastic wrapping on top of the fence. We placed the foul poles in there.”

When Ferro looks at Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark, he sees potential.

"The field has a lot of potential,” Ferro said. "I got an electrician to come out to fix the lights in the batting cage. We only have one light working on that light pole,” Ferro said, motioning to a light pole down the first base line. "They came out to fix it, and they did, it worked temporarily, but then they went out again. It’s really just minor stuff that needs to be done. We’re in desperate need of clay. And then there’s no irrigation. The irrigation system worked for a week, and after that it didn’t work anymore.”

To try to give the outfield grass a fighting chance, Ferro would come by the park every two hours during the evening to reposition conventional lawn sprinklers attached to garden hoses.

“That’s the only reason it looks as good now as it does,” Ferro said.

Ferro wants to be clear that he isn’t blaming the city workers for the condition of the ballpark.

“A lot of the maintenance of the field has been provided by the players and the parents,” Ferro said. “There’s a lot of employees of the city who have worked very hard and have put a lot of time and effort into this. City workers, like Bob, who comes here and work with the field, do a great job with what they have. He has a limited amount of time to work on this field. That guy is a very hard worker. So, I come out here and help out, I draw the lines and everything else for the field. But that field is completely dried. It’s awful. Their sprinkler system is not working. The city and the county need to get together. They need to do what is needed to bring this field up to par. You cannot justify not having funding in a city like Marco Island and a county like Collier. We want to see government come together and reach an agreement because this is benefiting the taxpayers of Marco Island and it’s also benefiting the county. There’s a lot of other kids who play here. We don’t want to expose our kids to injury. There should be no excuse for a lack of funding. We’re not asking for $1 million, we’re not asking for new lights. We’re just talking about providing the adequate maintenance that needs to be done for any baseball field. We need to take pride in our community. This is Marco Island. We have to take care of what belongs to us. It’s about the kids. They’re our future. That’s what’s a little bit frustrating. There’s ant piles everywhere. The sand in the outfield is incredible. The trees behind the outfield fence are hanging over the fence."

Ferro then points out improvements to the dugouts, press box and storage sheds.

“Moore’s roofing did all of these roofs,” Ferro said. "The roof of the press box was falling in. They did everything for free, materials, everything. We painted all these dugouts. You see the community wants this. You see the community is making an effort. They’re donating their money, their time and their materials to make this a better place. These kids are playing in dirt and there’s all kinds of ants back in the outfield. Some kids are allergic to red ants.”

Ferro said he has received great cooperation from the principal at TBE.

“The school principal at Tommie Barfield has been phenomenal with us,” Ferro said. "She’s been very flexible with us, trying to help us."

Jane Watt, founder and board president of MIA, recently toured Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark with her husband Jim and Ferro. Jim Watt has coached baseball at the field.

"I feel like baseball is something that brings a community together,” Jane Watt said. "Even if you don’t have a child on the team, or kids in the school, it’s a fun opportunity for anybody in the community to come and watch. They can come out to the game and be part of it. It’s something that’s just good for the community. When I envision a community, baseball is always part of it."

"The other thing is the middle school could be using this as well,” Jim Watt said. "They could play baseball competitively - we just don’t have a middle school team right now.”

An 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with the City of Marco Island’s logo hangs inside an enclosed message board at the ballpark. It looks like it’s been there for years. It’s titled Tommy (sic) Barfield BB Field Assignments. At the time the assignment sheet was created, Marco Island Charter Middle School was using the facility three days a week, Gulf Coast Little League was there once a week, Cal Ripken baseball was there for three sessions a week. Adult softball was played every Thursday from 3:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Conspicuously missing is Marco Island Academy, which may suggest that the assignment sheet is older than MIA itself.

Next to a weathered wooden bench by the former tennis court lies an abandoned water fountain.

“When you look at it, it’s such a part of a community,” Jane Watt said. "It’s generations of people participating in it. That’s what you want to see. And you hope that over time, things get better. This is just an opportunity to make things better for the community. Let’s make this a gorgeous field for the kids now and for generations to come. I think that’s what we need to do. This park has so much potential, and land is at such a premium on this island, we need to embrace it and make it the best we can.”

Reisinger has played on Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark since he was in elementary school at Tommie Barfield. So has his older brother Paul and his sister Meagan, and his cousins.

“It’s funny,” Reisinger reflects on the condition of the field, “I told my brother and sister and cousins and they couldn’t believe it. They all grew up playing here. I remember when we had nice grass in the outfield.”

Hopefully, Reisinger will come watch his kids play baseball at Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark someday. And hopefully he'll smile when he remembers when things took a turn for the better.