Fenway Park in Texas? The ‘incredible' Wiffle ball replica of Red Sox's iconic stadium

New York Times

20 hours ago

BELLS, Texas — Tuesday afternoon, a 75-year-old baseball enthusiast from San Antonio, visiting for the first time a particular Wiffle ball facility he'd heard so much about, turned 10 all over again.
Jerry Buster, bat in hand, stepped to the plate. He saw the pitch. He connected. The ball sailed over the left-field wall, and Buster showcased his home run trot, far from a sprint but with some pep in his step, possibly fueled by the euphoria of the scene and environment. Everything in his moment felt spot-on.
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Similar memories are often made at Home Run Ranch, a complex located in the heart of Grayson County, Texas, that serves as a student ministry and a safe space for high school students who travel as far as 50 miles to attend weekly Bible studies. The ranch also happens to host one of the most fascinating sites within the baseball stratosphere: the Wiffle ball field of Wiffle ball fields.
In the tiny town of Bells, a Wiffle ball complex honors one of the most iconic Major League Baseball stadiums. A replica of Fenway Park rests in the front yard of the home of Stephen and Lana Newton. It's a perk for the students who are part of the weekly Bible studies, but the Newtons rarely turn away anyone simply interested in stepping out of their cars to enjoy the splendor. Visitors can treat the field as a landmark by taking photos or, after meeting the owners, touching the surface.
The replica has nearly every intricacy a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan can think of. The Green Monster? Check. The outfield walls and their angles and perpendiculars? Accurate. The foul poles? Right on point. Pesky's Pole? Consider that extra credit.
Tuesday was perfect timing for Buster, a Houston Astros fan who has a longtime appreciation for the Red Sox after visiting Fenway 30 years ago. He, like tens of thousands of others, is excited about the weekend series at Fenway, as the Red Sox host the hated rival New York Yankees beginning Friday evening.
Tuesday brought back fond memories of his trip to Boston. That's how accurate the Wiffle ball field is.
'Somebody had to be a Red Sox fan to put this together; the Yankees are always losing on the scoreboard,' Buster said. 'But with the field, baseball is really being preserved here.'
Full attention to detail was the primary goal in creating the replica built in 2021. Casual baseball fans know about the famous Green Monster in left field, but die-hard Red Sox fans can break down the most intricate features of the iconic sports venue that opened in 1912.
The replica features two sets of numbers on the outfield walls. The white number represents the actual dimensions at Fenway. The yellow number represents the dimensions of the Bells field.
'The left-field foul pole at Fenway is 310 (feet). Here, it's 70 1/2 feet to left,' Stephen said. 'In center, it's 379 in Boston; it's 90 feet here. The absolute furthest point at Fenway is 420. Here, it's 94 feet. The right-field foul pole, Pesky's Pole, is 380 at Fenway and 74 1/2 feet here.'
From a color scheme, the Newtons used the same official brand as the Red Sox. The limited-edition paint, created by Benjamin Moore, is dubbed the 'Fenway Collection' and features Green Monster and Foul Pole Yellow, obviously used to paint the wall and foul poles.
The chef's kiss of the replica features what lurks past the left-field wall. A Citgo sign has resided in Boston's Kenmore Square since 1965 (1940 if you include the sign's days of representing Cities Service oil company). When the Newtons were building their field, a friend who is a collector chose in June 2023 to donate a random Citgo sign he'd had for quite some time.
'It was kind of the cherry on top,' Stephen said of adding the Citgo sign.
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The only glaring difference is that while Fenway is a grass field, the surface at Home Run Ranch is turf. Also, the Green Monster in Bells is built out of metal to avoid rotting wood and reduce maintenance.
It has become the daily movie for baseball fans that the Newtons didn't know they would be a part of.
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'I remember when we first started building, the Amazon delivery guy pulled in and said, 'What is this … Field of Dreams? Build it and they will come?'' Lana said. 'In several months, he pulls in again with another delivery and says, 'This really is like Field of Dreams.''
Lana also remembers a man wearing a Red Sox shirt visiting the facility. The man, holding a small dog, made a basic request for a dream come true.
'He said, 'Take my picture out there, because I'll never get to the real one.'' Lana said. 'That's cool, to me.'
In 2021, the Newtons wanted to enhance their small Bible study for high-schoolers, which had been going on since 2017. Their son, who plays baseball, suggested a Wiffle ball field. Turf was delivered to their land in April 2021. The complex broke ground four months later. The field officially opened in October. Lights were added the following month.
From there, extra highlights were slowly added. A replica Fenway scoreboard came in October 2022. Seats for the Green Monster were added in March 2023. Additional field lights were installed last month.
'The idea of a Wiffle ball field was always in our minds. The level that it got built was never in our minds,' Stephen said.
Lana explained the reasoning behind building a replica of Fenway. First, Fenway is iconic. Even Yankees fans who hate the Red Sox appreciate the history. Second, the Red Sox will always have a place in the Newtons' hearts — even though Lana insists the favorite team of the house is the Atlanta Braves.
'Some people are like, 'Why Fenway?' There are only a couple of the OG stadiums still around,' Lana said. 'We took our son to Boston in the summer of 2023, and we went to a Red Sox game and took a tour of the stadium. My son fell in love with Fenway because of his connection to it from our front yard. It wasn't just an old stadium to him.
'That's what's inspired what is in our front yard. Older people appreciate it, but younger people can appreciate the original, too.'
Stephen first became a Red Sox fan in 1986. A 10-year-old Stephen watched the Astros while growing up north of Houston and the Braves because their games were on TBS. The team he despised the most? The New York Mets.
'In 1986, my first sports tears were when the Astros lost that classic NLCS to the Mets,' Stephen said. 'I hated the Mets, and I have ever since. Back then, I said whoever is playing the Mets in the World Series is my new favorite American League team, because I didn't have an American League team.
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'But of course, we all know what happened in 1986.'
Since then, the Red Sox have given fans four World Series championships, the latest coming in 2018. And regardless of a winning season, a Red Sox-Yankees series will always attract attention. There's tons of history involved. Expect baseball fans — and not just Red Sox and Yankees fans — to be glued to their television sets throughout the weekend.
Buster's first trip to Home Run Ranch came just in time for him to prepare for the weekend. He remembers having excellent seats at Fenway during his Boston trip in the 1990s. Before the game, he had a chance to walk around Fenway. After the game, he remembers hanging out with Red Sox fans at a nearby bar, staying until it was time to close.
All kinds of memories ran through his mind as he stood on the replica field. It was unexpected nostalgia.
'What's fascinating for me is, as a kid, I grew up playing Wiffle ball in the backyard. This is what I wanted to develop in my backyard,' Buster said of Home Run Ranch. 'I had one of the best curveballs. We always tried to find a flat area where we could put a field together, and here, we've got Fenway Park. Just incredible.'
Nestled in a town of approximately 1,500 people, the place the locals like to call 'Bells, America' is located roughly 70 miles north of Dallas and has a total area of only 2.2 square miles. Transportation in much of the town consists of a one-lane road. Bells is a dot on the state map, relatively nonexistent on a national map.
The Newtons have had numerous individuals stop by their facility, and they welcome each with open arms. They've heard from people as far as Australia and New Zealand. They've received messages from Red Sox fans globally. They've also had fans of the closest MLB team, the Texas Rangers, ask why the facility is modeled after Fenway and not Globe Life Park (opened in 2020) or The Ballpark in Arlington (1994-2019) or Arlington Stadium (1972-93).
Even 2004 World Series champion Kevin Millar has chimed in on the facility.
Need this immediately at the ranch!!!!! Let's gooooo https://t.co/u54XRgc7VG
— Kevin Millar (@KMillar15) May 29, 2025
Mason McCready plays soccer for Texoma FC, a USL League One soccer team based in nearby Sherman, Texas. The 22-year-old goalkeeper spent the first six years of his life in the Boston area, as he is the son of Scott McCready, a former NFL wide receiver who was on the New England Patriots practice squad when the team won Super Bowl XXXVI. The McCreadys moved to Scotland the following year, as Scott played for the Scottish Claymores of the World League of American Football (later called NFL Europe). Mason lived in Scotland until recently, when he moved to Sherman for Texoma FC.
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Mason was wearing a Boston shirt when he first connected with the Newtons during a church function. He was invited to Home Run Ranch and was 'taken aback' by everything he saw.
'I've seen Fenway, but I'd never seen anything like this,' McCready said of the Wiffle ball field. 'Being a big Red Sox fan, this was just incredible. Until you see it in person … it's crazy.
'For me, without question, it was seeing the Green Monster. It's such a unique thing in all of sports, but seeing a mini version of it — and it still being so relatively big — it caught me off-guard.'
Visits to the ranch happen at all times of the day. Lana mentioned it's routine to see people drive by, only to hear their cars backing up to see what they're missing. Having Massachusetts residents or individuals with Boston ties show up at the ranch is always a treat. Some will arrive wearing Red Sox gear. One fan gave the Newtons a replica 2013 World Series ring. Some will even approach the complex with a Boston accent.
Home Run Ranch is truly a spectacle, almost a town secret in many ways. The goal of containing emotions seems to be the norm for visitors. The Newtons said they've witnessed several people getting out of their cars, staring at the field in awe and trying to find the words to explain what they're seeing.
'When you bump into someone who happens to have a mini Fenway … that shouldn't happen,' McCready said. 'I felt like I was in a fever dream.'
As remarkable as the visual of the Wiffle ball field can be, the objective of Home Run Ranch holds the most weight.
The ranch is considered a parachurch ministry, a largely self-funded mission that became a 501(c)(3) in 2018. The mission was once a youth Bible study in the Newtons' living room. Twelve students showed up for the first meeting in September 2017.
From there, the number continued to grow. On Dec. 15, 2024, a record 145 students from roughly 20 high schools were in attendance, learning about Biblical scripture and how the teachings intertwine with the everyday struggles of young men and women.
'I focus a lot on creating a place where they want to come,' Lana said. 'I want it to be approachable. I want them to invite people. I want them to learn how to share their faith. I want them to have fun being a believer.
'People think it is just a Wiffle ball field, but so much more happens here. I look at it as the Lord's faithfulness.'
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Home Run Ranch has a noticeable tagline: 'A home to run to.' The complex has an outdoor basketball court and a community building called 'The Dugout,' where Bible study is held. That building includes a ping-pong table and a pool table. It can also host team dinners for organizations around the northern Texas area.
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The ranch is a reminder of the past for Lana. She didn't have youth Bible studies growing up. She wanted to start the mission so high school students could find a balance of building their faith while having fun doing so.
The replica field has been a great asset in getting the word out. And with this weekend's Red Sox-Yankees series on deck at Fenway, the all-around publicity is a win for all involved with the ranch.
'One thing led to another, and next thing you know, we've built the cathedral for Wiffle ball fields,' Stephen said.