Pat Anderson, left, runs the Pony League and cares for it as if it were his baby. "Life coach" is a better description, one admirer suggests.

JAMES S. WOOD / arizona daily star

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Let's say there is this idyllic plot of baseball turf, a postcard of baseball heaven, tucked away behind some tennis courts and shielded by a clutch of towering eucalyptus trees.

Let's say that this unfamiliar out-of-the-way place, Gollob Park, has been the launching pad for major-leaguers such Ian Kinsler, Shelley Duncan and J.J. Hardy. And that it has been the developmental ground of so many standout high school and college players — Moises Duran, Will Smith and Adam Wilkes, to name a fraction — that you cannot keep count.

Let's add that this field of dreams is under the care of a former Arizona Wildcat third baseman, a coach/organizer/ counselor who has volunteered his time for 16 years and raised more than $100,000 to keep the place clean and dignified (not counting the thousands of dollars he has pitched in anonymously).

Let's say this man kept coaching and working and raising funds long after his two sons exhausted their Pony League eligibility, and that every year he brings in someone like St. Louis Cardinals outfield coach Tom Spencer to teach base running, or someone like Washington Nationals pitching coordinator Brent Strom to instruct coaches, players and parents on proper pitching mechanics.

And let's add that when this man took charge of the Pony League 16 years ago it was a neighborhood operation, mostly for East Side ballplayers, but he skillfully added players from the Northwest Side, the West Side and everywhere, even Sierra Vista, Nogales, Benson and Safford.

Let's say this inexhaustible man is retiring this season. What would you do?

"We could schedule a big bash to pay tribute and honor him,'' says former UA baseball coach Jerry Stitt, "but Pat might not come.''

Stitt and Pat Anderson were teammates on UA baseball teams of the late '60s, and although they took different career paths — Stitt has been a high school, college and pro coach, and Anderson is a Tucson dentist — they wound up together again, coaching youths night after night after night.

"The thing about Pat is, he won't take any credit,'' says Stitt, whose Baja Arizona Baseball Academy fields teams in the Tucson Pony League for 13- and 14-year-olds. "With him, it's always about how good the umpires are. It's always about how good the coaches are. But it's about him, too. He insists on the best. He'll really be missed.''

Pat Anderson is a protective mother to those who play at Gollob Park. He insists on cleanliness, orderliness and on a beautiful little ballpark specially fitted for young teen-agers who are not physically ready to play on regulation fields.

Gollob Park's diamond is 54 feet from mound to home plate and 80 feet between the bases.

"What Pat has done for all the years he has run the Pony League program is to provide a safe haven for young players and particularly the developing pitcher,'' says Strom, formerly the pitching coach for the Royals and Astros. "Most well-meaning coaches don't realize the difficulty in moving from the Little League distance of 48 feet to a full-size field. This difference can be overwhelming and stressful for the competitive pitcher.''

Anderson is a Palo Verde High School grad who says he learned baseball "the right way'' from Arizona's three-time NCAA champion pitching coach Jim Wing. He has put those practices to use at Gollob Park.

Others have noticed.

"It's perfect,'' says Jerry Ledezma, a Tucson insurance broker who has coached high school baseball at Pueblo and Sabino and assisted Anderson at Gollob Park for 13 seasons.

"I'd say 95 percent of the top players in Tucson come through Pony League, on this field — major-leaguers like Jamie Vermilyea, Chris Saenz and Brian Anderson. It's the cream of the cream because Pat has made it fun to play here.''

One of Anderson's early teams included Kelsey Osburn, a Sabino High and UA infielder subsequently killed in a 2001 base running tragedy in New York. His father, Seattle-area architect Mike Osburn, suggests that Anderson get a new title upon retirement.

"Life coach.''

"I admired Pat's core values that became manifest through his tireless participation," says Osburn. "He saw a need to make things better: facilities, coaching, competition. He filled the void personally and led by the example of his work ethic.''

More than 200 Southern Arizona teenagers play in the Pony League every season. One team is assigned to clean up the park every weekend. Anderson is fussy to a fault; he had concrete poured under the bleachers to eliminate dust. He spent more than $10,000 to get just the right grass seed. He insists on mowing the infield himself.

There is no tolerance for profanity, umpire-baiting or helmet-throwing.

"Pony League used to be a mainstay in amateur baseball,'' says Strom. "For whatever reason, it has died a slow death. Only through the efforts of Pat Anderson has it survived in Tucson.''