ALPINE, Texas — In West Texas, we take great pride in what we do. And if you’re going to do something, you better do it right. That is the story of Kokernot Field.
Built in 1947, Herbert Kokernot Jr. got this right.
“You can just feel the mystique,” Derek Pollacchi, President and Assistant General Manager for the Alpine Cowboys said.
It is a work of art. Mr. Herbert’s touch is on every part of this field. You can see little details of the game and the family that brought America’s favorite pastime to Alpine, Texas.
“Our brand is on everything out here,” Kristen Cavness, Kokernot’s great-granddaughter said. “He loved baseball and when you look at old pictures, this was the only thing out here.”
The stories this west Texas field of dreams could tell – a home of legends.
“Norm Cash played here. Ernie Banks played on this field. Satchel Paige pitched on this mound,” Pollacchi said.
There is an aura about this park, something special that can be felt even today. Everything is as it should be here. It’s summertime and the Alpine Cowboys call Kokernot home.
Their reputation has earned a new moniker – the Yankees of the Pecos League.
“Everybody wants to be here. Our roster is always the biggest. Our fans are always the best,” pitcher Jake Woods said.
The success found on the field in Kokernot is divine prophecy that could only be dreamed up on a baseball diamond.
“We’re out in the middle of nowhere. We don’t have the population to sustain any kind of professional sport what-so-ever but, yet…we have one,” Cavness said.
Perhaps, that’s exactly what Mr. Herbert intended all along.
“There’s just something about it that you look around and you go, this place of 5,000 people has this? They play professional baseball here? And they get to play it here?!” Pollacchi said.
The best park, with the best team. And today, it is run by Mr. Herbert’s great-granddaughter.
“I felt like it needed to be run correctly,” Cavness said. “The legacy continues. I think my great-grandfather would’ve been proud. West Texas is the best place to have anything, honestly.”
And honestly, she’s not wrong.
Learn more about the Alpine Cowboys here: Welcome to Alpine Cowboys Professional Baseball Team! (pecosleague.com)
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