Lynn kids have Fraser Field day

LYNN – It was hard to tell who was having more fun at Fraser Field Monday: the North Shore Navigator players or kids from the Lynn Parks and Recreation League.On Monday afternoon, the newest tenant of Fraser Field hosted children from Lynn Parks and Recreation Summer program for an afternoon of fun and games. Click here to view a photo gallery from the North Shore Navigators Field Day.Peabody native Mike Gallo, who is pitching for the Navigators this season, climbed out of the dunk tank soaking wet and laughing after several Lynn youths hit their target and he landed in the water.”I’m having as much fun as the kids,” he said. “This is awesome. We get to have fun with the kids and get to know them. Then the kids can come to the games and tell people, ‘I dunked him.’ I wish we had something like this when I was a kid.”Breed Middle School student Kayla Arsenault, 11, said she was having a blast.”My favorite part was the dunk tank,” she said as she watched Gallo climb out of the tank. “I like baseball too and I got to meet the players.”Other activities included a moon bounce, obstacle course, three legged races and relay races.Participants rotated through the various stations, which were manned by Navigators.Manny Navarro, who is entering fifth grade at Hood School this fall, said his favorite event of the day was the relay race.”I’m having fun,” he said. “I like baseball. (Red Sox outfielder) Manny Ramirez is my favorite baseball player.”Shallon Bush, 10, who lives in Kansas and is visiting family in Lynn for the summer, also enjoyed participating in the field games.”The obstacle course was fun,” she said. “I was in the wheelbarrow race and three-legged race too.”Pitcher Mike Adams, a student at Franklin Pierce College, said he was having a ball with the children in attendance.”I’m really having a good time,” he said. “This is what it’s about – having fun and giving a little back to the community.”Navigators volunteer Meaghan Hamill said there were 85 kids from the Lynn Parks and Recreation Program on hand for the event, along with Navigator ball players and staff.According to Hamill, the idea for the event was Gallo’s and everyone in the organization was eager to pitch in and help out.”We’re giving kids tickets to the game tonight (Monday),” she said. “So they will have a chance to watch the players they met today.”The team is owned by Swampscott resident Phil Rosenfield, who brought the team to Fraser Field after the departure of the North Shore Spirit. Monday afternoon, Rosenfield said he was pleased with the event.”It was Mike Gallo’s idea,” he said. “I like to see people’s ideas come to fruition. It was a great idea but no one person can do everything but everything can be done if everyone chips in.”The Navigators are part of the New England College Baseball League (NECBL) and were formerly known as the Holyoke Giants. This is the Navigators first season in Lynn and pitcher Jason Markovitz, who is a student at Long Beach State, urged area residents to check the team out.”I wish we had more fans,” he said. “We like to play for a big crowd and have people cheering us on. I’d like to have more people come to the games. I think they’ll be surprised at how good we are.”Unlike its predecessor, the Navigators rely primarily on volunteers, and players are housed in the community.Even before the first Navigators game was played at Fraser Field this summer, the Navigators were reaching out to the community. The team continued the school reading program started by the Spirit and asked area residents to help name its new mascot.