Beloved San Jose Little League to get big check from county to abandon home fields

A year-long scuffle over a renowned East San Jose Little League whose baseball players were compelled to leave the home fields they’ve used for over half a century is nearing its end — but their deal is far from a grand slam.

Eastridge Little League President Johnny Cisneros on Monday signed an agreement with Santa Clara County that will inject $225,000 into his league’s coffers, with the money intended for finding future fields as well as equipment costs.

In exchange, the league’s 135 players must not step foot on the three baseball diamonds at Reid-Hillview Airport, fields that the county claims are a public health risk because of the leaded fuel expelled by nearby airplanes.

The infusion of cash will last until 2025 when the county will reclaim any funds that the league hasn’t spent; a specific date by which the players must officially leave Reid-Hillview is still being hammered out. The team serves Latino youth who come from a community less affluent than nearby neighborhoods and cities.

“There’s some good that can come out of it,” Cisneros said in an interview. “But losing the fields is sad.”

Though the deal with the county doesn’t include a permanent home field, Cisneros said he is currently looking into resettling at three diamonds at August Boeger Middle School. He’s also considering merging with the neighboring East Hills Little League.

Since the league’s inception in 1972, it has leased the fields at Reid-Hillview on Cunningham Avenue from the county. Yearly operations costs for Eastridge amount to roughly $11,000 a year.

David Campos, a county attorney who has been working on the Eastridge agreement, said he’s pleased to have worked with the league to find a resolution.

“The county’s top priority is that the families involved in the Little League get their needs met,” said Campos.

The battle between Cisneros and the county started in February 2022 when the county informed him that he’d have to leave Reid-Hillview the following March. Since then, Cisneros has continued to use the fields despite the county’s orders — and has also called into question the lead hazard claimed by the county. The league also uses fields at Overfelt High School and Hillview Park.

But opponents of the closure say the health risks are overblown — and that Reid-Hillview serves as critical infrastructure for the area. In 2018, the county stopped receiving federal grants for the airport, which will lead to its closure in 2031. They also see any efforts to close Reid-Hillview as simply a land grab.

Health concerns surrounding the airport became heightened in August 2021, after the county released a report that concluded children around Reid-Hillview Airport have elevated levels of lead in their blood. But a follow-up study roughly a year later that tested soil samples in the area found no elevated levels of toxins, leading some in the Little League to doubt the danger.

Regardless of the potential health risks, Jerry Soriano, who has been involved with the Eastridge Little League since 1974, said that the deal with the county is a good one.

“It’s a health risk if the scientists are right,” said Soriano, a former coach, president and board member of the league. “It will stunt the growth of kids. The county was at least offering them a way out.”