North Shore baseball fields renamed for Surfside victim to ‘inspire young people’
Manny LaFont was youth baseball to many children and their parents in the close-knit Surfside and North Shore communities.
On June 24 last year, the 54-year-old coach and father was killed in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium.
But his name will continue to represent youth baseball.
LaFont spent countless afternoons at the North Shore’s baseball fields playing ball with his 10-year-old son, Santi, tossing and hitting and fielding the ball until night fell, Danny Berry, director of Miami Beach Youth Baseball League, told the Miami Herald on the day LaFont’s body was recovered from the rubble. Santi and his 13-year-old sister, Mia, were safe with their mom, Adriana, who had picked up both of their children hours before the collapse.
At noon Sunday, March 13, the city of Miami Beach plans to dedicate the baseball fields at North Shore Park in LaFont’s honor.
“Manny was a beloved member of our community and cared deeply about every child he coached in youth baseball at North Shore Park,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in a statement. “His memory will continue to inspire young people to excel in sports and in life for years to come.”
The dedication resulted from a Change.org community proposal to rename the baseball fields for LaFont in July and was approved by the Miami Beach City Commission in October.
Santi spoke before commissioners in September in hopes of getting the fields named for his dad, Miami Herald news partner CBS4 reported.
“I will never give up on baseball. When I grow up, I will teach my kids, like my dad spent countless hours trying to teach me and friends,” Santi said at the meeting.
“People called it his second home,” baseball coach and parent Brendan Coyle told CBS4 in October before the commission vote.
LaFont coached his son Santi on the Astros baseball team at North Shore Park, on 72nd Street in Miami Beach, about a mile and a half south of Surfside. He was known for encouraging his son’s teammates and friends, like Coyle, the Herald reported in June after the collapse that killed 98 people.
“Manny also cared deeply about the development of all the kids he coached or came across at the field,” Coyle told the Herald in June. “Even in seasons when we didn’t coach the same team, he would text me all the time to ask how my son Nate or other kids that he had coached were doing.”
At Sunday’s dedication, a plaque will be placed on a pedestal in the batting cage area where LaFont spent so much time coaching.
“Coach LaFont personified the spirit of community service through his many hours on the baseball diamond,” former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora, who sponsored the measure, said in a statement. “This is a well-deserved honor for someone who was loved and respected by parents and children alike.”
LaFont’s family is expected to speak at the dedication, which will be followed by an afternoon of baseball.
Naturally.
