They want to see the league play at night and hold tournaments, as do the rest of the 22 leagues in District 14.
"We can play against ourselves in this league, but we don't have the items in place to host a tournament now," said Morris Smith Jr., a coach. "We have to play on the road."
What the Lawnside league needs is money. It has pitched its plan to the Borough Council, which is finishing up the borough's fiscal 1993 budget.
With only a few additions, Smith and Hayes said, Lawnsiders would be able to see playoff action between players ages 9 to 12 selected from the league's five teams and youngsters from other towns in the district.
First, they need a clubhouse.
Nothing fancy, they stressed - just a cinder-block job behind the field's backstop, with a concession stand on the first story and a place to seat an announcer and any out-of-town umpires on the second.
Then they must enclose the field with a cyclone fence, extending 200 feet and rising 4 feet, to protect fans.
Finally, they must dig up the sand surface covering the field and replace it with clay.
In addition, the league is hoping to make two more improvements that aren't required by the district for postseason play: a couple of dugouts - players now sit on exposed metal benches - and lights, allowing teams to play at night.
Smith said he envisioned four light towers - two next to the clubhouse and one down each foul line.
Smith said the lights would also reduce conflicts over the use of the field. "We want the park to be for everyone," he said. "With lights . . . we could leave by 7 or 8, and someone else could come in."
With the local league, Hayes is bringing back more than just organized baseball to the borough.
"Free Haven" in the league's title is the borough's original name and speaks of its history as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Its team names - the Monarchs, Giants, Travelers, Homestead Grays and Black Barons - evoke Satchel Paige and the other greats of the old Negro League.
"While these kids are playing baseball, we can teach them a little about their history," Smith said.
Last week, the league submitted estimates to the borough on what the improvements would cost: $50,000 for lights, $21,000 to $26,000 for a clubhouse; $6,000 for the dugouts; $4,500 for a fence, and $4,000 for sodding the field.
"The council is going to help them in any way possible," Council President Vernon Moore Sr. said. "We won't be able to do it all in one year, but we will get it accomplished."
Councilman Leon Williams said: "For 17 years, Little League has not been a priority of the governing body. I'm . . . hopeful that this governing body will finally make the children one of their priorities."
