PORT ST. LUCIE — Erik Bartkowiak’s baseball training facility in Port St. Lucie already was struggling when the economy started to fail.. Bartkowiak quickly found himself swinging at hardballs with a Wiffle ball bat.

In September, parents started coming to the Sandlot Baseball and Softball Academy saying they no longer could afford the $100-a-month membership for instructions and access to the facility’s equipment.

“One or two would say they just got laid off and ask for a break on membership,” Bartkowiak said. “In October, it was four or five a day. By January, I was down to about 20 members. It doesn’t work — $2,000 a month when I needed $20,000 to operate.”

With other training programs to offer and alternative business financing, he got out with his wallet mostly intact. But not everyone has been so lucky. (more…)

TREASURE COAST — When Port St. Lucie High School pitcher Kyle Hurley steps on the mound next year, his baseball team might be limited to 20 regular season games — five fewer than now.

The Florida High School Athletic Association has proposed chopping the maximum number of contests by 20 percent for all varsity sports except football; and by 40 percent for all junior varsity sports including football. A board vote is expected in April.

The typical sports regular season would go from 25 varsity games to 20; and 25 junior varsity games to 15.

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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Tourism leaders from Grand Bahama Island will meet with local officials this week and get a first-hand feel for St. Lucie County in an effort to build a business and tourism partnership.

Grand Bahamian and St. Lucie County officials hope the visit, which will include tours of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, will help solidify a non-binding agreement the two groups entered into in December with the goal of boosting tourism in both locations. One of the main ideas behind the agreement is to work together to market both areas, such as offering vacation packages between the two locations. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Former President Jimmy Carter cruised the St. Lucie River, mingled with friends and family at the local Club Med resort and helped raise more than $800,000 on Saturday to support the Carter Center.

Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and some of his children and grandchildren were in town this past weekend for the annual “Winter Weekend,” an event for supporters of the non-profit, Atlanta-based Carter Center, which promotes peace and health worldwide. (more…)

Marlins pitcher Scott Proctor (left), plays with his 3-year-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and wife, Carrie. Photo by Sarah Grile

JENSEN BEACH — There’s no disputing Scott Proctor’s passion for baseball. After a tough loss, the new Marlins reliever once burned his glove on the dugout steps at Yankee Stadium — “a sacrifice to the baseball gods,” he explained.

Proctor persuaded his wife to name their first child,  5-year-old Camden, after Baltimore’s baseball yard.

Their youngest, 18-month-old Cooper, got his name from the New York town that’s home to the Hall of Fame.

“It helped me understand what really matters,’’ he said. (more…)

STUART — For the kids at the East 10th Street Recreation Center, shooting hoops or playing football for the Stuart Hornets is all a part of growing up.

Taking a few swings with the bat or playing soft toss on the diamond is not, a reflection of baseball’s diminished grasp in some areas of the country especially those populated by black youth. (more…)

By Laurel Pfahler

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Los Angeles Dodgers have not left Vero Beach just yet, but when they do, Dodgertown will not be completely empty.
The team is leaving behind several items to keep the facility functional for a new tenant, as well as some items that will help the county preserve the Dodgers’ history at the site where they spent 60 spring training seasons.
The Dodgers closed the facility Dec. 31, but they are still packing up and moving out. In the meantime, they continue to pay the electric bill.
“We finished going through all the inventory, and we expect they will be out in a couple weeks,” Indian River County Administrator Joe Baird said.
Baird walked through the property with Craig Callan, the Dodgers’ vice president of spring training and minor league facilities, before the new year, taking the final inventory of what would stay and what would go.
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