‘A Full-Circle Experience of Emotion Meeting Closure’: Baseball Field Named After Steven Malin Jr.

By David A. F. Sweet While one train idled at the station, Steven Malin Jr. tried to cross the tracks in West Lake Forest with a friend in 2003. The 11-year-old did not know a freight train was heading the other way; he was struck and killed. In Steven’s obituary, the family asked for donations to be sent to the Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Department.

The baseball field at Everett School is now named after Steven Malin Jr. “We thought maybe we’d get money for a new ping-pong table at the Rec Center,” said his mother, Maria. “He loved to go there after school on Fridays.” Instead, donations surpassed anything the family anticipated. Steven’s dad, Steve, envisioned a gift to Parks & Recreation that would combine his son’s love of baseball with a much-needed renovation to the baseball field across from their home. “Everett was just like the Bad News Bears’ field. It was tumbleweeds,” Maria said. The family, with the Friends of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Foundation acting as its 501c3, turned the Everett School baseball field -- where Steven often played catcher -- into a tournament-grade spot and donated it to the community that had given incredible support to the Malins after Steven’s death. Local contractors gave in-kind donations, consisting of excavating, fencing, landscaping, a scoreboard and more. Along with the memorial donations, the value of the project exceeded $350,000. A bronze statue of Steven playing catcher was donated by the Malins and built behind the backstop, surrounded by commemorative bricks purchased by many friends and families.  In 2004, the field opened. At a ceremony attended by hundreds, the Malins’ pastor blessed it. “Steven would’ve been so excited about the new field,” Maria said. Added Steve, “It was wonderful.”

Steve Malin talks to the crowd during the Sept. 6 dedication ceremony. Informally over the years, it was known as Steven’s field, though officially it remained Everett Field. But recently, the Lake Forest City Council voted unanimously to call it the Steven Malin Jr. Memorial Field. The Malins attended the meeting. “One thing that stood out is the aldermen came up after, and there were tears in their eyes,” Maria said. “When all is said and done, we’re parents and community members. When Steven first died, the community held us up.” Added Steve, “They continue to do so by this gesture, led by (former) Alderman Ara Goshgarian.” A dedication was held on Sept. 6, and Steven’s name was unveiled on the scoreboard. “It was a full-circle experience of emotion meeting closure,” Maria said. “It wasn’t so much having his name on the signage; it’s the feeling of the completion of a passion project.” That project was particularly championed by Steve. Drafted by the San Francisco Giants as a pitcher, he loves baseball. He shared that passion with Steven in many ways, including taking him to the 1997 World Series. “Stevie loved baseball, and it was a special bond we shared,” said his father, who has planted flowers and weeded the area by his son’s memorial at Everett for many years. After finding out the field would be named after Steven Malin Jr., the Friends of the Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Foundation decided to build a batting cage there. That is slated to be opened this fall.A new walkway to the cage will feature a number of commemorative bricks that are available for donations $100 and above. Each brick can be personalized. To learn more, visit https://lfparksandrec.networkforgood.com/projects/246430-everett-park-baseball-field-batting-cage. The cage is an extra bonus at what has become such a special spot for the Malins. Said Maria, “The baseball field renovation was therapeutic for my husband to spearhead and lead. It’s a beautiful amenity for the Lake Forest community and for the kids who love baseball like Steven did to enjoy for years to come.”