By David Headrick
For BYU baseball fans, a new calendar can get them through the year.
BYU”s Larry H. Miller Field is featured in Baseball America”s 2002 Great Parks Calendar.
The year 2002 marks the first full season that the BYU Cougar baseball team will compete at the new Miller Field.
Head coach Vance Law is overjoyed about the new ballpark.
“We are ecstatic about it. We think its one of the best in the country, if not the best,” Law said.
Miller Field is a major step up from locations the team has used in the past.
In 1913 when BYU baseball made its debut as an officially established sport the first games were played at Timpanogos Park in Provo.
The Cougars migrated over to where the N. Eldon Tanner Building now stands in 1957 and spent 12 years playing there.
In 1969 the Cougars made their home in the 3,000-seat Cougar Field.
According to Vern Law, former BYU baseball coach, in 1979 Sy Kimball donated one million dollars for the construction of a new baseball park.
This donation finally went towards the funding of the Miller Park.
The Miller Park complex is composed of two fields. The baseball team plays on the Larry H. Miller Field, and the softball team plays on the Gail Miller Field.
Primary donors to the park were Larry and Gail Miller and Sy and Betty Kimball.
The baseball portion of Miller Park features 2,300 permanent seats. Its new-age roof is constructed from a Teflon fabric stretched tight by cables.
Not only is this new complex an impressive sight, Miller Park offers much to players, coaches, fans and recruiters.
The park houses both Cougar clubhouses for softball and baseball teams, a visitors locker room, concession stands, a memorabilia mezzanine, handicapped seating, an elevator, an umpire room, a hosting facility, an equipment room, training room, indoor batting cages and coaches offices.
Former coach Vern Law said the new field will make a large impact on the community.
“Getting a park like that makes such a difference for the community, athletes and recruitment,” he said. “The community can watch an overnight ballgame with the family. It”s a dream come true.”
This year also marks the first season that the Cougars hope to host a regional championship in the new field.
Senior pitcher Jeff Stone is looking forward to that opportunity. “We want to host the regional and win it,” he said.
