Posted July 2, 2026
Mendocino Has The Fields. Now It Needs The Organization.
MYBA will hold a public formation meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM at the Friendship Park first base bleachers. Details and any updates will be shared through the mailing list.
Mendocino Youth Baseball Association was originally formed by people who wanted to create and protect a place for the game at Friendship Park. The organization later dissolved in the early 2000s, and the field no longer had the same dedicated baseball nonprofit guiding its future.
The renewed MYBA is being organized with a clear first mission: become official, build community support, make a credible school board bid to maintain the fields, and pursue the Friendship Park lease so the park can become MYBA headquarters.
The goal is not to promote one specific league. It is to create a neutral, baseball-first organization that helps the Mendocino K-8 field, the high school field, and Friendship Park become the best possible places for local baseball players to practice, compete, and gather.
Why Friendship Park Matters
Friendship Park has long been more than a field. Around the Fourth of July, local families remember the town gathering after the parade for a community party and ball game. MYBA's goal is to restore that kind of public, hometown energy while working constructively with schools, local partners, field users, and the school board.
The Proposed Field Focus
The association will work toward supporting the Mendocino K-8 field, the high school field, and Friendship Park as a connected system under one management plan. The immediate proposal is to take responsibility for maintenance planning, create a clearer path for improvements, protect broad field access, and make the fields tournament-ready for 2027.
A Permanent Fund For A Permanent Game
The early fundraising vision includes an endowment structure. Major gifts, annual donations, sponsorships, and planned giving can build a principal that produces reliable yearly support for field care, travel teams, equipment, clinics, and player opportunities far into the future.
Summer Tournaments Can Help The Whole Town
Youth baseball tournaments bring families into a defined place for a defined weekend. Assuming $500 per family per tournament, 14 player families per team, and 7 visiting teams, one away tournament can take $7,000 or more out of a Mendocino team. One home tournament can eliminate that $7,000 expense for local kids and also bring 98 visiting families and $49,000 or more of economic activity into town.
Who Should Attend
Parents, players, coaches, school representatives, alumni, local businesses, nonprofit leaders, donors, and community members are invited. The formation meeting will cover mission, board needs, nonprofit structure, fundraising priorities, the school board bid, Friendship Park, field access, and first-year projects.