Matthew Parratt Dugout Memorial
‘Take what you can from dreams – make them as real as anything.’
- Dave Matthews
Matthew Parratt first approached Tim Obr, co-head coach of St. Croix Prep’s Varsity Baseball Team, when his son Ryan was a freshman player and asked him what needed to be done to make the school’s home baseball field better. This question described Matthew perfectly: a father devoted to his son and passionate about watching his son play his favorite sport, baseball. Matt’s days of watching baseball games came to a tragic end when he died unexpectedly in May 2020, but his memory is living on.
Ryan, now a senior, has been playing baseball since he was four years old and you would always find Matt cheering him on. During Ryan’s years playing traveling baseball, Matt was assistant coach alongside his long-time best friend Jeff Johnson. Jeff described Matt as the “yeah, sure” guy; anything he would ask him to help with Matt would say, “yeah, sure” and would be there to help with anything. It wasn’t always about winning for Matt; he was the coach who made sure the boys had fun at practice and wanted to come back each week for the love of playing.
Early on Matt helped put together a wish list of all the improvements for the team’s home field at Barkers Alps, a Bayport city park just down the road from St. Croix Prep. The first item on this list was covered dugouts. So, after Matt’s death, his former wife, Jennifer Parratt, said there was no question of how they wanted to memorialize and pay tribute to Matt. Thus, through the recently established St. Croix Prep Foundation, the Matthew Parratt Dugout Memorial (MPMD) was created and to date almost $8,000 has been raised through donations made by the Prep community, and Matt’s friends and family. The dugout project was a grass roots effort. It took weeks of careful planning on the part of many people – which included scouting other baseball fields at out-of-town tournaments and touring facilities at other schools, and then creating a design that worked with the existing structure. When asked about the dugout project, Ryan shared how happy he is that there is a permanent and impactful mark on the baseball program in his dad’s memory.
In addition to generous donors, many others deserve thanks for making the MPDM a reality including the city of Bayport who has been very supportive of the project and assisted with permitting, prepping the grounds, and with getting the dugouts ready and the many volunteers in the Prep baseball family including parents and teammates, who donated time and labor to get the dugouts built.
Matt’s dream of a quality baseball field for his son to play on continues to inspire others. There are now plans in place for adding batting cages, cubbies in the dugouts, a potential grass infield, and much more down the road. These improvements are largely made possible through a recently awarded $15,000 grant from the Minnesota Twins. The Twins grant application was undoubtedly strengthened by the community investment demonstrated in the Matthew Parratt’s Dugout Memorial and the community partnership between St. Croix Prep and the city of Bayport.
But it wasn’t all about baseball for Matt. He was very proud that Ryan attended St. Croix Prep, not only because he played baseball, but also for the quality education Ryan was receiving. Off the field, it was vitally important to Matt that Ryan get a good education and go on to college. Ryan will be doing so this fall while continuing his baseball career. Ryan is attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and playing baseball for the Blugolds. Matt would be immensely proud of his son for this achievement, both on and off the field.
Matt Parratt’s goal of making improvements to Prep’s baseball field wasn’t just about Ryan; it was also about Matt’s long-term vision for the program and for the boys who will be a part of it for many years to come. This is a testament to Matt. He not only cared about his son but about so many others as well. The Prep baseball family, the St. Croix Prep community and the Bayport community are all enriched because Matt acted on his dream. Inspired by Matt and in honor of his memory, the Prep and Bayport communities have made the Matthew Parratt Dugout Memorial a reality.