'I've got my own field!' Peralta gives back

On Monday, D-backs outfielder David Peralta traveled 66 miles from downtown Phoenix to Wickenburg, Ariz., to take a look at a baseball field.

It wasn’t just any baseball field, though. It was “David Peralta Field,” built with funds donated by Peralta and his wife, Jordan, and in conjunction with APS and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It looks really nice, and I was really excited,” Peralta said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got my own field!’ That’s pretty good when you can help do something for the future, for those kids who want to play baseball, because when I was looking at the field, I was picturing myself when I was young and thinking of myself playing out there. Because that’s where everything started -- playing on a field with your friends.”

Growing up in Venezuela, Peralta did not have access to the kinds of fields like the one built in his name.

In fact, Peralta's field is nicer than some of the independent ball fields he played on when he was trying to get back into baseball after being released as a pitcher by the Cardinals. Peralta worked at McDonald’s at that time to help pay the bills while trying to find a Major League team to take a chance on him.

Originally signed in 2004, Peralta endured a pair of shoulder surgeries before the Cardinals released him in '09. He resurfaced as an outfielder in independent ball in '11, was signed by the D-backs in '13 and made his big league debut for them in '14.

Now the longest-tenured D-backs player, Peralta won a Silver Slugger Award in 2018 and a Gold Glove Award last year.

“For me, it’s something that you never thought was going to happen,” Peralta said. “This is a dream come true. I just wish that in the future, a kid comes to me and says, ‘Hey David, you know what? When I was little, I was playing on David Peralta Field, and now here I am in the big leagues,' or in professional baseball. That’s the main goal -- to have something special for the kids where they can be away from the street and playing baseball.”

David Peralta Field is the 43rd baseball and softball field that the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation has built or refurbished since 2000, which represents a more than $10 million investment. It is located at Sunset Park, a four-field complex home to Wickenburg Little League and more than a dozen regional and national baseball tournaments each year. It now has new LED light fixtures, dugouts, fencing and backstops, sod and the signature D-backs electronic scoreboard.