Former Brewers SS Building Baseball Field In Backyard

[MrTPlush]

JJ Hardy is creating a stir due to constructing a literal baseball field in his backyard including 20 foot poles for a backstop. While his neighbor lives within the City of Chandler, he lives in an unincorporated county island. Thus, a 20 foot backstop seems to be allowed.

I mean honestly…what a gigantic douche move by Hardy.  I actually can’t imagine being such a person that has no shame doing this. Anyone who knows anything about baseball knows balls are not going to be contained by a 20 foot net.

https://www.azfamily.com/2024/04/03/former-mlb-player-building-mini-baseball-field-maricopa-county-home-causes-controversy/?outputType=amp

 

(feel free to move this to off-topic if you see fit)

[TURBO]

The struggles of ex-players are real...

[young guns]

[rickh150]

Gotta be wiffle ball…

[JosephC]

I think I would have had all the permits in hand before starting to build something like that.  Of course, I didn't make 80 million dollars during my (ongoing) career, so I don't exactly have 10s of thousands of dollars to throw away in case something goes sideways.

[MrTPlush]

1 hour ago, rickh150 said:

Gotta be wiffle ball…

Yah, I was pretty perplexed. His yard is big…but not big enough for a former MLB player to hit balls…and a 20 foot backstop isn’t stopping a baseball. Maybe not even a wiffle ball.

I guess if I had that much money (especially if I wanted a ball field) I wouldn’t live so close to my neighbors the 20 foot fence was pushing the property line.

[RightFieldCoder]

34 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Yah, I was pretty perplexed. His yard is big…but not big enough for a former MLB player to hit balls…and a 20 foot backstop isn’t stopping a baseball. Maybe not even a wiffle ball.

I guess if I had that much money (especially if I wanted a ball field) I wouldn’t live so close to my neighbors the 20 foot fence was pushing the property line.

The video said it was for his "friends and family" so I think it will be non-athletes doing any swinging. He might feel like the fence is being respectful to his neighbors (even though it clearly isn't).

The video also had the complainant state she is bound by HOA rules and he isn't. Yeah, that's life. I live on a cul-de-sac. The house at the entrance isn't part of the Condo Association.  We just deal with the fact that he gets to do things we aren't allowed to do.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, MrTPlush said:

Yah, I was pretty perplexed. His yard is big…but not big enough for a former MLB player to hit balls…and a 20 foot backstop isn’t stopping a baseball. Maybe not even a wiffle ball.

I guess if I had that much money (especially if I wanted a ball field) I wouldn’t live so close to my neighbors the 20 foot fence was pushing the property line.

I'd guess it's probably for his sons and less for him.

[BrewerFan]

44 minutes ago, RightFieldCoder said:

The video said it was for his "friends and family" so I think it will be non-athletes doing any swinging. He might feel like the fence is being respectful to his neighbors (even though it clearly isn't).

The video also had the complainant state she is bound by HOA rules and he isn't. Yeah, that's life. I live on a cul-de-sac. The house at the entrance isn't part of the Condo Association.  We just deal with the fact that he gets to do things we aren't allowed to do.

Yeah, I had a friend who just didn't sign the HOA agreement when he bought his house. People were pissed, but it was because he built a shed...on his 3 acres that buts up against the woods. So a backyard shed that is the same color and matches his house. I actually don't think it was because he could, it was because they couldn't. He put up a little fence in his backyard for his young children and dogs. People complained so he took it down. Didn't want to push it, but it just becomes this little policing neighborhood often times and people are so petty. I get people don't want someone with a junkyard in their yard, but it seems like there could be a happy medium. 

HOAs are a pain.

 

As for the field, this doesn't seem like a big deal. He's building a little baseball field, again, presumably for his kids. I think his sons are roughly 9 and 6. 

Not getting the permits was stupid.

[folly412]

Would have to see what it looks like when it's done.  I would hope he's not really going to be shining stadium lights on the field all night long.  But aren't there five fields within a 10 minute bike ride the kids could use down there? 

[Samurai Bucky]

If he puts in an umbrella bar, hosts concerts until 11:00PM at night, and has fireworks after the game, then people can complain.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...