Baseball diamond to honor fallen child

To honor a 9-year-old baseball fanatic who died suddenly last month, University of Virginia baseball players will work today to revitalize a baseball field at an Albemarle County elementary school.

“It will be a nice tribute to Carson that his friends have somewhere nice to play in his memory,” John Raymond said of his son who died of severe flu-like symptoms. “It’s a horrible reason to do a good thing.”

Carson, a Woodbrook Elementary third-grader who had a heart condition, died soon after becoming ill. John Raymond and his wife, Jennifer, started a foundation in honor of Carson to give local children more opportunities to play neighborhood sports.

The first mission: revitalize the existing baseball field at Woodbrook Elementary.

“I know he had a special passion for the game of baseball,” said head UVa baseball coach Brian O’Connor. “I just think that this is a great way to forever honor Carson Raymond, and we just want to do our little part in trying to make that happen.”

About 50 UVa players, coaches and staff members are expected to demolish the existing Woodbrook Elementary field and lay the groundwork for a new and improved Little League-style field with dugouts and an infield composed of the same dirt used by the Washington Nationals. John Raymond hopes the field will be completed by the end of January.

Woodbrook’s principal, William Sterrett, described Carson as “a teacher’s dream and a best friend to many students.”

“Many claimed that he was their best friend, and he loved sports,” Sterrett said.

Raymond described his son as friendly — and a “very, very bright kid.”

“I think Carson would be really excited about all this going on, but I think that — it being about him — he’d be a little embarrassed,” Raymond said. “He was a little bit shy with adults and kids he didn’t know, but once he got to know kids, he was a goofball.

“He would, you know, tell jokes and say nonsense things and [was] always laughing with friends,” Raymond said.

The Carson Raymond Foundation had raised more than $25,000 as of Thursday, and organizers hoped to raise another $10,000 at a fundraiser this past Friday. After the Woodbrook field is completed, the foundation’s leaders plan to search for another local place to develop a new or improved baseball field.

To donate or get additional information about the foundation, visit http://www.carsonraymondfoundation.com.