SMYRNA, Ga. – When 9-year-old Ellery Thomas first laid eyes on the new softball fields at Rhyne Park, she couldn’t believe it.
Oh my goodness, she thought to herself.
“I cannot believe how different these fields look,” Thomas said. “I thought Rhyne Park would only have turf. I didn’t know we’d have so much more. I didn’t know the concession stand would look different. I didn’t know that we would have pads behind [home plate]. I thought it would only be turf, but it’s way more.”
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Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves, Cobb County Parks and Rhyne Park Girls Softball Association officially unveiled the new Rhyne Park on Monday as the centerpiece of MLB Together’s All-Star Legacy Initiative. In addition to three new turf softball fields, the project features a new batting cage, scoreboards, fencing, windscreens and a fresh coat of paint, with the goal of making the park usable year-round.
The investment into Rhyne Park comes on the heels of MLB’s new partnership with the Athletes Unlimited Softball League and re-affirms the league’s longstanding investment into supporting the growth of softball at all levels.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
“I’m sure everyone in this audience realizes that women’s sports are having a moment in the United States, but Major League Baseball is not new to this movement,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “For years — over a decade — every youth program that we’ve done, we’ve done in parallel: baseball and softball. And because of our commitment to softball, that great sport is an important part of the All-Star Game program here in Atlanta.”
Manfred, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman Lisa Cupid, District 4 commissioner Monique Sheffield and Cobb County manager Dr. Jackie McMorris each took turns speaking to an audience that included residents and families from Smyrna and Cobb County, along with an A-List of former big leaguers such as Andruw Jones, Nick Swisher, Ryan Howard, CC Sabathia and more. AUSL commissioner Kim Ng was also in attendance.
“This is absolutely unbelievable,” Ng said. “I’ve been on the staff with Major League Baseball when we’ve done projects like this before on behalf of softball, in conjunction with softball. And so to just see another one — this is absolutely beautiful.
“I think it shows Major League Baseball’s — as well as Commissioner Manfred’s — commitment to young girls and women, and clearly understands how important this game is to all of us.”
It was a much-needed renovation for Rhyne Park, one of the oldest parks in Cobb County. According to Braves vice president of community affairs and executive director of the Braves Foundation Danielle Bedasse, the park had two fields that were operational and two dirt infields, both of which had heavy flooding damage.
Thomas, who has been playing softball since the 6u level, described the old fields as, well, old.
“I like Rhyne Park, it was just very dirty,” she said.
But with the new Rhyne Park, Thomas’ teammates told her they couldn’t wait to start playing. And she’s in full agreement. She’s especially excited about the turf infield, which she can’t wait to slide on.
“When I slide, I know it’s gonna be a lot more fun,” Thomas said. “Usually when I slide on the dirt, it hurts me really bad. Even if I have sliding shorts, it still hurts. But now that I slide on turf, I’m just gonna have fun and not hurt myself.”