Felix Mantilla Little League teams have played their games at Baran Park, 2600 S. Chase Ave., for decades. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
According to a statement on the Felix Mantilla Little League-Milwaukee Facebook page, the United Community Center (UCC), 1028 S. 9th St., will no longer run the Felix Mantilla Little League next year.
The league is made up of 22 teams and has been run by UCC for decades, according to Eric Roecker, president of the Felix Mantilla Little League. It no longer fits into the long-term future of programming at the center, Roecker said.
Beginning next year, the baseball league will be run by the Journey House, 2110 W. Scott St., according to the Facebook post.
There are 22 teams in the Felix Mantilla Little League. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
The immediate reaction on Facebook was negative.
Commenters questioned whether games would still be held at Baran Park, 2600 S. Chase Ave., where they’ve been played for years.
Another commenter asked whether the move to Journey House meant games would be played at Mitchell Park next year, where the center hosts its youth football leagues.
“Maybe in a few years,” replied the administrator of the Mantilla Facebook page.
Julian Haliga, coach of the Milwaukee South Side Baseball Club, which plays in the Mantilla League, called the news “a huge letdown.”
He said that he and others who’ve been dedicated to the league for decades should have been involved in the process. According to Roecker, the decision to drop the league and transfer it to Journey House, though likely, won’t be final for a few weeks.
A Journey House spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Edgar is a senior staff reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Mendez is a proud graduate of UW-Milwaukee, where he double majored in Journalism and Sociology, and of Marquette University, where he earned a master’s degree in Communication. As an accomplished journalist, Edgar’s awards include a 2018 Regional Edward R. Murrow award, several press club awards and a Society of Professional Journalists’ regional award for columns dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness and racism.
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