Swampscott field named after 3 longtime coaches

SWAMPSCOTT – They spent countless hours on the town’s baseball diamonds, and now three late residents’ presence continues as selectmen approved naming the town’s Little League field in honor of them.”They all had their share of champions, all produced great players and more importantly great adults,” said Daniel Santanello, who coached this year with Duratti until the latter’s death this spring.The men he is talking about are Alfred Duratti, Andrew Holmes and Alfio Cerone; all integral in the founding of Swampscott Little League in 1956 and its ensuing success, according to Santanello.Longtime coaches such as Santanello can still recall playing for all three of them over their own Little League careers. Santanello remembers going to bat for Duratti, Holmes and Cerone on various All-Star and regular season teams. He said that the three men “became synonymous” with their Swampscott Little League teams; Duratti with the Yankees, Holmes with the Indians and Cerone with the White Sox.The decision was not without controversy.Town officials expressed reluctance with making the Little League field at Forest Avenue officially synonymous with the men. The board asked for further details when first presented with the idea at their Oct. 26 meeting. Little League representatives returned Monday night, but town officials had further questions.Board of Selectmen Chair Matthew Strauss wondered at the board’s Monday evening meeting whether committing to naming the field after the three men would preclude future naming rights that could be sold. Strauss mentioned that Gloucester High School had sold the naming nights to their stadium and potential naming rights had been discussed for – for example – stands or the scoreboard at Phillips Park.”I would love to honor them with a plaque, a statue or sign for the field,” Strauss said, emphasizing that his reluctance was not personal in any way. “These are just great,” he said when presented with a proposed plaque which resembled the plaques hanging in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. “I fully support just like this but not naming.”Town Administrator Andrew Maylor sought more information on the overall plan for the field – where the plaque would be located, if a statue would be built, etc.But Santanello and Swampscott Little League President Scott Sagan urged that selectmen consider the unique situation of honoring three individuals who they said dedicated over 140 combined years of service to the town’s Little League.Selectman Jill Sullivan also disagreed with Strauss when he said that if the board granted this request, it was “not going to be able to say no” in the future.”I think this is a judgment call,” she said.Selectman Rich Malagrifa agreed.”I think you have to take it on an individual basis,” Malagrifa said. “This is America ? it’s the way it is, we name airports, parks, etc.,”Santanello said Wednesday that he would next work with the Little League board to coordinate a monument and signs and to plan an Opening Day dedication.”The bottom line is we got it named,” he said. “There’s some recognition of these guys and I know their families will be pleased.”Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].