KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following weeks of high water and flooding along the Missouri River, parts of the Waterwell Athletic Complex remained under water on Thursday as players and teams were forced to play at other fields.
So far this season, around 400 games have been rained out at the site near Briarcliff.
On Thursday, multiple fields were submerged in feet of standing floodwater, the concession stand and bleachers surrounded.
“On our fields, you can’t see anything including the mounds,” North Kansas City Area Baseball League Director Michael Cantwell said. “Those are two feet under water, easily.”
For Cantwell, the last few weeks have involved having to cancel and reschedule hundreds of games while coordinating scheduling at different venues.
The Pleasant Valley Road Athletic Complex played host on Thursday with four different games being played at the same time in the evening.
“It becomes quite the juggling act in making sure all the games can get in,” Cantwell said. “Luckily, we have other parks available from the city that we’re able to staff and put games on.”
In total, Cantwell said around 30% of the season games were rained out.
For parents like Jill Garcia, the constant changes to the schedule have made this season stand out.
“Because of the rain, we have eight games that we have to make up,” she said. “We’re playing doubleheaders. We’ve had some on school nights, which are hard.”
With the Waterwell fields still dealing with flooding, Cantwell said it was unlikely that any games would be hosted at the complex this season.
Despite flooding continuing to bring an impact to the metro, the NKCA Baseball League community said it wouldn’t let anything stop America’s pastime.
“It’s fun to see kids outside doing things instead of inside on video games,” said grandparent Michael Heater. “That’s the best part of life is watching your grandkids play baseball.”
