Jim Bouton proposed to renovate the park without any public dollars and bring professional baseball back. On July 3, 2004, a record crowd of 5,000 attended a vintage baseball game he organized at Wahconah Park between Pittsfield and Hartford, a game telecast live for over four hours on ESPN Classic as "America's Pastime: Vintage Baseball, Live". Commentators included Bouton, Bill Lee, actor Tim Robbins, and baseball historians John Thorn and David Pietrusza. Eventually, Pittsfield politics intervened and Bouton was forced out.