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About 50 demonstrators protested noisily outside city hall Monday to get back their beloved baseball field in Jeanne-Mance Park.

More than a sports field, it’s a gathering place for people of all ages, cultures and walks of life that embodies all that’s best about Montreal, they said.

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“I began playing baseball six years ago. It really changed my life for the better,” said Marisa Berry Mendez, a spokesperson for Save the North Field Campaign.

“The most special thing is how diverse it is,” said Berry Mendez, who lives in Little Italy and works for a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of immigrants and refugees.

“To have people from all walks of life mixing around a game they love is really special,” she said.

The city has suggested that the players use a regulation-size field in the park but Berry Mendez said it was not fair to displace the softball leagues that use that field.

“We don’t think it’s an equitable solution,” she said.