By Gregg Aamot | 05/13/16
The view from right field at Irish Yard. MinnPost photo by Gregg Aamot
MILROY, Minn. – On the first Sunday in May, the Milroy Irish opened their fifth season of play at Irish Yard, a baseball diamond carved into a soybean field on the outskirts of this southwestern Minnesota town.
About 60 fans showed up – a small weekend crowd by Irish standards, but decent considering the breezy, high-50s weather – to watch the Irish hold on for a 6-5 win over Stark, a tiny township that also fields a team in the state’s Class C amateur baseball division.
“It’s such a relaxing time to come out here and watch baseball,” said Caleb Krause, a college freshman whose family farm sits within view of the ballpark. Krause – home for the weekend and helping his younger brother, Amos, run the 20-foot-high, Green Monster-like scoreboard in left field – said he expected to attend many games this season. “There’s not much else to do in the summer except watch baseball,” he said. “Besides, it’s still America’s pastime, isn’t it?”