Progress Report - Tommy Peale

It has been a long road back from "Tommy John Surgery" for former 2006 South Coast Conference Player of the Year and LBCC MVP, Tommy Peale. Even though his rehab is not completed, all indications are that he is well on his way. Tom's father Gary Peale reported that, Tommy threw his first bull pen sense the surgery and everyone in Florida was very encouraged. "Tom has done everything he has been asked to do," reports his father. "We'll just have to wait and see - Time will tell."

Tommy was a key factor in the Vikings 2006 State Championship in Baseball going 16-0 in 103 innings pitched with a 1.31 ERA. He also had a .362 batting average in 35 games as a position player. Now, five years later, he is still giving everything he has to the game.

There is an old saying I learned from my LBCC coach Bob Meyers back in 1972, "The cream always rises to the top." I believed it then and still do to this day. Whether in the game of Baseball or Life, Tommy Peale will rise to meet the challenge.

All the best my friend, we're all pulling for you!

LBCC Wins Opener 4-3

The Long Beach City College baseball team pounded out 12 hits in its season opener on its way to a 4-3 non-conference win at Barstow College on Saturday.

Long Beach (1-0) returns to action on Tuesday (Feb. 8) when it begins a three-game series against Orange Coast College. LBCC is at OCC on Tuesday, followed by the Vikings’ home opener at Joe Hicks Memorial Field on Thursday (Feb. 10). The two squads close the series on Friday (Feb. 11) at Orange Coast.

All games are set to begin at 2 p.m.

Bits and Pieces

Scouts and baseball fans won't find a better weekend competition than Saturday at San Juan Capistrano JSerra. At 9 a.m., the host Lions will take on Mission Viejo, a candidate to be No. 1 in Southern California. At noon, Mission Viejo will face La Puente Bishop Amat, led by junior Rio Ruiz. And at 3 p.m., JSerra will play Bishop Amat.

Jason D'Andrea, a senior catcher at West Hills Chaminade, has committed to UCLA, Coach Frank Mutz said. D'Andrea was a late pickup for the Bruins and will sign during the next letter of intent period.

He's one of seven Chaminade players who have signed or committed. The others are pitchers Dalton Brown (Duke) and Mathew Troupe (Arizona), outfielder Michael Dingilian (Cal Poly), infielders Tanner Reibenspies (San Diego State) and Dylan Delaney (Michigan) and outfielder Bradon Rapoport (Washington).

The high school baseball season for the City Section officially begins on Feb. 25 with the Poly tournament, and there's an outstanding opening game matchup that should feature top pitchers in City player of the year Jose Cardona of Woodland Hills El Camino Real taking on Ryan Cruz of Granada Hills Kennedy.

Coaches for both teams are expected to throw their aces in that opener at El Camino Real. Cruz defeated Chatsworth last season and didn't get to pitch in playoffs after Kennedy was upset early on.

Dodger Stadium looking good for finals

There has been no final contract signed, but Dodger Stadium is looking strong as the likely site for the City Section and Southern Section baseball championship games.

The Southern Section has agreed to pay for the City Section to have night games at Dodger Stadium so the Southern Section would be able to hold its section finals on Saturday, June 4 at Dodger Stadium.

The City Section would hold its Division I final on Friday, June 3 at 7 p.m. at Dodger Stadium, with the Division II final on Thursday, June 2 at 7 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. The Division III final would be May 26 at USC.

The City and Southern Section still must finalize plans with the Dodgers to make sure the stadium is available.

West Coast Baseball Coaches' Convention

The inaugural West Coast Baseball Coaches Convention will be held on January 13 – 15, 2011 at the renowned Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, CA.

Featuring inside information from some of baseball’s brightest minds, including coaches Ty Waller of the Oakland Athletics, Rick Renteria of the San Diego Padres, Steve Yeager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dennis Rogers of Riverside Community College, Rich Hill of the University of San Diego and many more, you are certain to become a better baseball coach!

The West Coast Baseball Coaches Convention offers you numerous national presenters and dozens of exhibitors from national and local companies…all of whom are there to provide YOU with leading-edge knowledge, equipment and apparel. And, this is all delivered to you at the state-of-the-art Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula.

Registration is only $75 (includes a reception on Friday). To register, call the Lake Elsinore Storm at (951)245-4487.

Millikan Baseball Gives Back

Mike Guardabascio - Gazettes -

Saturday morning, the first day of LBUSD’s winter break, you can bet that 99% of Long Beach’s high school kids were sleeping in, catching up on sleep they’ve skipped during the school week, perhaps dreaming about presents to come the following Saturday. The Millikan baseball team was up, working at the Eastman Boys & Girls Club on Del Amo, where they gave away over 200 toys and served over 350 pancake breakfasts to children and their families. Duncan Smith from the B&G helped put things together at the facility for Millikan.

The Rams served all the food, bused all the tables, sang carols, played with the kids, and helped Santa hand out toys. All but two players in the whole program, and every single coach attended, with pitching coach Kevin Marchael handling Santa duties (probably the only time you’ll see a Ram in red and white this year). Syrup was donated by Hof’s Hut, milk and OJ by Rockview Dairies, sausages by Farmer John, coffee and hot cocoa by Starbucks, and pancake batter by California Waffles.

We tip our cap to the Millikan program for taking a moment out of their vacation to give back—if you know of a player or team who’s giving back, shoot me an email at mike@gazettes.com and we’ll put up a story this week.

UCLA Baseball

Junior right-handed pitchers Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole have earned preseason first-team Lousville Slugger All-America honors, as announced by Collegiate Baseball on Friday. Each pitcher secured second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball as sophomores in 2010.

Collegiate Baseball has selected Bauer and Cole as two of its six starting pitchers to secure preseason first-team Louisville Slugger All-America honors. The Bruins' right-handed duo is joined by Danny Hultzen (Virginia), Taylor Jungmann (Texas), Matt Purke (TCU) and Noe Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton).

Bauer and Cole have excelled in UCLA's starting rotation since their freshman seasons. They are the only returning starting pitchers in the Pac-10 Conference who have earned All-Pac-10 Team honors the last two years. Cole was named a preseason first-team All-America selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) earlier this week.

Hailing from Valencia, Calif., Bauer went 12-3 with a 3.02 ERA as a sophomore in 2010. He led the nation with 165 strikeouts in a team-high 131.1 innings. Bauer's 165 strikeouts established the school's single-season record. The right-hander went 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in four in the playoffs (four starts) to lead UCLA to the finals of the College World Series for the first time in program history.

With the college baseball season slated to start two months from Saturday, Bauer and Cole will return to the mound next spring with extensive resumes. Bauer has gone 21-6 with a 3.00 ERA in two seasons at UCLA, totaling 257 strikeouts and 68 walks in 236.2 innings. Cole has posted a 15-12 record with a 3.42 ERA in two years at UCLA, recording 257 strikeouts and 90 walks in 208.0 innings.

UCLA opens its 2011 schedule with a three-game series against San Francisco, beginning Friday, Feb. 18. Game time at Jackie Robinson Stadium is slated for 6 p.m.

CIF Approved Bat List

The CIF has posted an approved bat list on their web site. To check your bat for the 2011 season go to the CIF web site under helpful links on this page- then, go to the drop down list of sports and click baseball - then go to events & news releases. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Approved BBCOR Bats Coming Soon

Marie Ishida, executive director of the CIF, said Wednesday that a list of BBCOR-approved bats should be available by next week from the National Federation of State High School Assns. website and should be available for purchase at Sports Authority and other commercial outlets as early as December.

Sports Authority has agreed to put a CIF label on bats that can be used for the 2011 season and beyond.

The CIF is requiring aluminum bats used in 2011 must meet new BBCOR requirements. There also will be a list of bats that have a one-year waiver and can be used in 2011but not in 2012.

Scout All Star Game

There's a terrific all-star baseball game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mount San Antonio College featuring numerous top high school players from Southern California. Its the PBSSC Jesse Flores All-Star Game run by professional scouts.

Included on the North team are Aaron Brown (Chatsworth), Trevor Gretzky (Oaks Christian), Kyle Raubinger (Arroyo Grande), Shane Zeile (Valencia), Austin Davidson (Oxnard), Steven Karkenny (Chatsworth), Koby Gauna (St. John Bosco) and Quincy Quintero (Valencia).

Included on the South team are Eric Snyder (Edison), Travis Harrison (Tustin), Christian Lopes (Edison), Ryan Garvey (Palm Desert), Austin Hedges (JSerra) and Brandon Martin (Corona Santiago).

Should be a good one.

When Should Scholarships be Offered?

It's pretty amazing that UCLA Coach John Savage already has much of his pitching rotation lined up for 2013 with commitments from junior pitchers Hunter Virant (Camarillo), Max Fried (Montclair Prep) and Lucas Giolito (Harvard-Westlake), among others.

Of course, there's still time for late developers, but it's clear that recruiters are identifying prospects younger and younger, accelerating the recruiting process.

This is a tough call. Parents get upset when students don't make varsity as a freshman or sophomore, fearing it's going to hurt their college scholarship chances. But sometimes playing junior varsity or freshman ball is best for a player's development.

There's discussion in the NCAA about delaying when scholarships can be offered, which might lead to a last-minute stampede of decisions.

The key is parents and athletes need to educate themselves on the rules, get their academics in order and perform. Recruiters will find you.