OAKLAND -- Like the other players, James Varney took a minute to gawk at the 22-foot high wall in left field. How cool would it be, thought the Messalonskee Tigers catcher, to turn on a pitch and drive a baseball off that wall? How cool would it be to hit it over?

"I'd be lucky," Varney, 12, said.

Last September, Harold Alfond Fenway Park was christened with a visit from Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. On Monday, this replica of the Boston Red Sox home park was finally put to use with games.

No big league stars were in attendance. The governor wasn't there to shake hands and schmooze. Just the Tigers versus the Phillies in a Messalonskee Cal Ripken League affair.

Judge Joseph Jabar of Waterville threw out the ceremonial first pitch. A member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame who played his college ball at Colby and saw time in the Cape Cod League, Jabar threw a perfect strike to Varney.

Harold Alfond Fenway Park sits at the Waterville Area YMCA's Camp Tracy and was built to a two-thirds scale of the Boston landmark.

It's 180 feet down the left field line and 189 feet to the right field foul pole. The center field triangle is 247 feet from the plate, a good poke for any 12-year-old.

The scoreboard in the left field wall, like the one at Fenway, is hand operated.

The best seats at this little Fenway are the cheap seats. Bleachers sit above the center field wall and, from this perch, a fan gets a fantastic look at the entire field.

"The best views are up here," said Jim Delorie, the athletic director at the Alfond Youth Center.

It smells like a ballpark in the outfield bleachers. The seats are directly above the concession stand, and the scent of hamburgers, hot dogs and popcorn fills the air. Unlike at the original Fenway, here in Oakland a bite to eat won't cost as much as your first car payment.

This week the Messalonskee Cal Ripken League will use the park. Next week will be another town's turn. Then another town, and so on. Little Fenway will not wither for lack of use.

"We want kids on the field," Delorie said. "We want it busy."

It will be busy, all right. On May 22, Bill Ripken will be here, giving a clinic to teams from Waterville and Oakland. On June 21, the park will host a home run derby. Every town in the state can send one child to participate, to see if he or she can hit one over the Mini Monster, or drop one into the bullpens behind the right field fence.

In July, Harold Alfond Fenway Park will host the state 10-year-olds Cal Ripken League tournament. In September, Cal Ripken Jr. will be back for a corporate outing, another home run derby.

After the splash made by Cal Ripken's visit last fall, the field finally opened quietly. Ripken already gave his seal of approval, but the real a-OK had to be delivered by the players who will step into the batter's box, that big green wall in left field begging to be dented by a line drive.

"It's pretty awesome," Varney said. That's the most important thumbs-up of all.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com