Waterford — This was once said of Gene Sutera, in the wake of his death:

“I know in my heart that Gene is in heaven, where the grass is always green, it never rains and every kid gets to play.”

That was Gene. God’s groundskeeper for the last 13 years. One of the patriarchs of baseball in Waterford, the best baseball town going.

The 13th edition of the tournament that bears Gene Sutera’s name finished earlier this week, two weeks and 14 teams, more kids getting to play on, fittingly, Gene Sutera Field. Scores of volunteers. And this, through the unspoken dignity of effort, has been such a hit-the-bullseye tribute to the man who still enhances the present because of his contributions to the past.

And what better way to honor Sutera than organizing a tournament so the kids can play baseball? That was pretty much his life: His family, his work and the kids in Waterford. All of them.

“I do it for my father’s name,” his son, David, was saying Wednesday night during the championship games. “I do it for all the stuff he did. It’s not just people from Waterford who know him now. One time we heard a kid whose team had just lost in all-stars say, ‘That’s OK. Now we get to play in the Sutera Tournament.’”

This is very much a Sutera Production, too. Dave, an accountant at Travelers by day, is the maestro. His son (Siena-bound pitcher Thomas Sutera), daughter (Brittany, studying to be a teacher) are all involved. There’s Nick Bontempo and Shawn Johnson, too. That’s merely this year’s group. Many others in past seasons have volunteered their time.

“Nick Bontempo comes up in the morning and starts working on the fields (behind Quaker Hill School),” Dave Sutera said. “Thomas and Shawn get here about 2:30 or 3. Thomas’ job now is washing cars at MJ Sullivan. He gets out and he and Shawn (who has a full-time job at Foxwoods) get the fields ready. They’re up here on weekends. After games, you see volunteers pulling the garbage cans. Rick Beaney tells me I come in like the white knight and get all the glory.”

It’s a Waterford thing, this obsession with manicuring baseball fields. It’s what they do. Go to the Babe Ruth Field and watch in astonishment when the game ends. It’s as if a director somewhere yells “places!” Suddenly, 25 people from nowhere run (not walk) on the field raking, lining, cutting. Turns out this is a learned behavior. This is what Gene Sutera has wrought. Now they almost celebrate volunteerism here.

“It started a long time ago,” Dave Sutera said. “I was seven and not old enough to play. Some neighborhood guys asked my father if he’d manage a minor league team. I was the batboy. He picked the team. All neighborhood kids. He started before I was even old enough to play and kept going long after we all stopped playing. He volunteered with Mr. (Bill) Meehan (who also has a field named in his honor). You see how they did it. Now someone like Shawn keeps talking about getting back into coaching.”

More than 1,000 people attended Gene Sutera’s funeral in 2003. But then, that’s what happens when your resume reads thusly:

For 31 years, he was involved in Waterford North Little League, later honored with the naming of a baseball field after him. He coached in the Waterford Babe Ruth League and was instrumental in forming Waterford North Little League Girls’ Softball. He was the president of Waterford Junior/Senior League Softball and to the day he died, was in charge of renovations to the Lisa Dedrick Memorial Park in Waterford. He was one of the founders in the formation of the Waterford Pre-Teen Girls’ Basketball League. He coached his daughter and granddaughters there.

How proud, indeed, he must be of the Gene Sutera Tournament’s success.

Before one of the championship games Wednesday, Dave Sutera addressed both teams, all kids 12 and younger. He encouraged them to keep playing baseball, “Babe Ruth leagues, and, I hate to say it, AAU, but do whatever it takes to get better. Listen to your coaches, respect the umpires and have a great game.”

Gene wouldn’t have said it any better (especially the part about AAU).

“Keeping the tournament going makes my mother feel good and keeps his name out there,” Dave Sutera said. “It keeps me young.”

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro. Twitter: @BCgenius