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Mansfield players in the Boston Park League

Five Mansfield Athletes Playing Baseball Together in Boston Park League

Five Mansfield baseball players who started together in Little League who are now either in college or recent graduates are still playing ball together in the Boston Park League, the country’s oldest amateur baseball league.

Robert and Chris “C.J.” Johnson, Michael Perillo, Dan Gad, and Ben Blaisdell are all members of the of the TJO Sports team in the Boston Park League. They play third base, first base/pitcher, infielder/outfielder, catcher, and shortstop, respectively.

The team is coached by longtime Mansfield Little League coaches Bob Johnson, Robert and C.J.’s dad, and John Perillo, Michael’s Dad. Read more

Jim Murphy, a retiree from West Roxbury, enjoyed a free front-row seat for a game at Fallon Field in Roslindale Wednesday night. ((Dina Rudick/Globe Staff)

Park League takes fans, players back … way back

It’s a sultry summer night, and the collision of wooden bats and hurtling baseballs echoes around the cozy grass amphitheater of Fallon Field in Roslindale.

“Nice throw, Danny!’’ barks Franz Strassmann, the coach of Grossman Marketing, which is battling to wrap up a playoff berth. Scattered applause ripples from the metal bleachers behind home plate and from lawn chairs perched along the foul lines.

This is the Boston Park League, the oldest continuing amateur baseball league in the country, and a throwback to a slower era when neighborhood and company teams drew rabid fans to simple ballparks without towering video screens, luxury boxes, and gourmet concessions.

They also had pretty good ballplayers, too. Read more