Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    California: The Baseball Capital of the World: From the Majors, College, High School and More, the State Has No Equal
    California: The Baseball Capital of the World: From the Majors, College, High School and More, the State Has No Equal
    California: The Baseball Capital of the World: From the Majors, College, High School and More, the State Has No Equal
    Ebook121 pages1 hour

    California: The Baseball Capital of the World: From the Majors, College, High School and More, the State Has No Equal

    By Mark Tennis

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Is there a better place in the world for baseball than California? This look at the sport from the major leagues down through the colleges, high schools and even Little League argues that there may not be anywhere as strong. With an emphasis on the many great baseball players from California high schools, the book includes rare photos of Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams plus lists all-time top players from Southern California, Northern California and from select regions.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateMay 17, 2013
    ISBN9781626757363
    California: The Baseball Capital of the World: From the Majors, College, High School and More, the State Has No Equal
    Author

    Mark Tennis

    Mark Tennis has been watching California high school football games since 1973 when he was in the ninth grade in Sacramento. He co-founded Cal-Hi Sports with his late uncle, Nelson Tennis, in 1979. Since then, he has been editor of Cal-Hi Sports from its inception as a newsletter to its current website CalHiSports.com. Tennis also has edited and helped compile seven California high school sports record books and was editor of the national Student Sports Magazine for eleven years (1993-2004). He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame along with Nelson as the first two media members in 2010.

    Related to California

    Related ebooks

    Baseball For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Last UPS

      Feb 13, 2024

      The Pacific-12 Conference, the self-proclaimed Conference of Champions, has produced 29 College World Series winners—14 more than the Southeastern Conference. The conference is well-represented in Cooperstown with Hall of Famers Tom Seaver and Randy

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Sleeping Giant Awakes

      Aug 5, 2019

      The Sleeping Giant Awakes
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Lasting Legacy

      Dec 1, 2020

      A Lasting Legacy
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Whole Different League

      Apr 8, 2019

      A Whole Different League
      9 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Rest On The West

      May 7, 2019

      @DAVESERRANO11 We are getting to that time of the year for college baseball. Conference races are starting to take shape. RPI standings are starting to become much more of the focus after each win or loss. As college baseball enters the second half o

      3 min read

    • Article

      College Hoops Teams Starting To Gain Attention In Crowded Chicago Landscape

      Oct 10, 2017

      On the morning of a day brimming with Chicago sports excitement - Game 3 of the Cubs' National League Division Series against the Nationals and the Bears' "Monday Night Football" game featuring the debut of quarterback Mitch Trubisky - some Chicago-a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Talk Up

      Oct 19, 2018

      Talk Up
      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Stars

      Aug 6, 2019

      Summer Stars
      5 min read

    • Article

      Overlooked Or Overdrafted?

      Sep 3, 2019

      Overlooked Or Overdrafted?
      5 min read

    • Article

      Goin’ In

      Mar 29, 2019

      Goin’ In
      6 min read

    • Article

      School of HARD KNOCKS

      Oct 27, 2023

      School of HARD KNOCKS
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Story Of Perseverance

      Aug 3, 2022

      A Story Of Perseverance
      6 min read

    • Article

      Gold Standard

      Sep 3, 2019

      Gold Standard
      4 min read

    • Article

      THE CITY Game

      Jul 19, 2019

      THE CITY Game
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hardwood Heroes

      Oct 9, 2019

      Hardwood Heroes
      5 min read

    • Article

      BRAVE Blue WORLD

      Apr 1, 2020

      BRAVE Blue WORLD
      9 min read

    • Article

      Where Have You Gone, Jackie Robinson?

      Mar 2, 2023

      Baseball is the hurrah game of the republic … America’s game: has the snap, go, fling, of the American atmosphere—belongs as much to our institutions, fits into them as significantly, as our constitutions, laws: is just as important in the sum total

      6 min read

    • Article

      Baseball’s Bounty

      Nov 1, 2020

      @JJCOOP36 I know I’m lucky. I have spent nearly two decades immersed in baseball every day while working for Baseball America. I’m convinced I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity without spending years down on the farm. In my first job out of colle

      4 min read

    • Article

      Expectations Unfulfilled

      Feb 13, 2023

      Expectations Unfulfilled
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for California

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      California - Mark Tennis

      Copyright 2013 by Cal-Hi Sports, 3232 N. El Dorado Suite C, Stockton CA 95204. All rights reserved.

      ISBN: 9781626757363

      For continuing updates on the best high school teams and players in California, please visit the CalHiSports.com website.

      On the cover: Members of the baseball team from Buchanan High School of Clovis celebrate after winning the 2011 CIF Central Section Division I championship. The Bears (30-2) also ended the season ranked No. 1 in the final ESPN FAB 50 national rankings.

      LET’S PLAY BALL -- STARTING LINEUP

      Introduction

      Jackie Robinson Photos

      Chapter 1 Franchise Fun Facts

      Chapter 2 A Dandy Dozen Since 1958

      Chapter 3 The Worldwide Leader At The World Series

      Derrek Lee Photo

      Chapter 4 Nothing Minor About These Teams

      Chapter 5 Dedeaux’s Legacy

      Chapter 6 Fresno Or Chatsworth?

      Chapter 7 Thank Goodness, Many Of These Coaches Do Not Play Golf

      John Stevenson Photo

      Chapter 8 The U.S. Kings of Williamsport

      Sean Burroughs Photo

      Chapter 9 It All Began With A Big Train

      Ted Williams Photo

      Chapter 10 Northern California Vs. Southern California

      Chapter 11 Looking Into A Crystal Ball

      Acknowledgements

      About The Author

      INTRODUCTION

      There have always been heated debates about which U.S. states are the best in sports like football and basketball. In football, the best debates are between Texas, Florida, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In basketball, the best involve New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California.

      These debates often boil down to a comparison of professional athletes who grew up or have been produced by a particular state.

      In baseball, however, there is no debate. By any way one looks at it – from the major leagues, the minor leagues, colleges, high school, famous high school alums, Little League – California is far in front of any other state. In fact, California’s prowess in baseball can be compared favorably – even stronger – than just about every nation on the face of the Earth.

      On the major league level, California’s five teams have all seen the emergence of dominating players in just the last two years. The minor league teams remain vibrant, many college teams are always in the hunt for the national title and the number of national-level high school programs within the state continues to rise. Even in Little League, California’s reputation at the Little League World Series as the best in the U.S. isn’t going anywhere, either.

      I’ve been in scouting for 20 years and California is always flooded with talent, said Corey Rodriguez, a scouting supervisor for the Milwaukee Brewers. From top to bottom, high school, college, junior college, even in a down year there’s still a huge representation of California players in the (Major League Baseball) draft.

      Some reasons for California’s strength in baseball are obvious, including a population that is 10 percent of the total population of the U.S. and year-round weather that enables everyone to go outside and play while other places in the nation are frozen and snow-bound.

      On our field, we haven’t had too many rainouts; I think I could count them on one hand, said Lakewood High coach Walter Spud O’Neil, who has been at his school since 1984. Our teams here play three seasons, including a fall league. It’s year-round. The weather keeps the fields in great shape, too.

      The weather is definitely conducive for teams getting to play every day, said Chatsworth High coach Tom Muesborn, who also was an assistant coach for the United States Under-16 National Team in 2011. By being able to do this year-round, players get better. You just see it every year on the national teams that are chosen. Just a lot of very talented California players.

      It’s important to have the weather, but having year-round access to be on a field goes right along with it, Rodriguez said. Players can do a lot indoors these days, but it’s not the same as being outdoors.

      Other reasons for the state’s dominance may not be so obvious, including the preponderance of outstanding coaching, competition that is intense no matter where one is learning how to play and a free-thinking mentality among many Californians that encourages risk-taking and fair play.

      On top of the weather, a lot of coaches and players are always exchanging a lot of information and knowledge, said Rancho Bernardo High coach Sam Blalock, who began coaching in the CIF San Diego Section in 1980. All this talent perpetuates more talent. A lot of players give back to their former teams and schools.

      We’ve always had Little League, even in my young days, kids were playing t-ball at 4-years-old, O’Neil said. Coaches were not as good then, but nowadays the guys in the Pony and Colt leagues actually could be very good high school coaches if they wanted.

      From a competitive level, California high school players who are fortunate enough to be on teams from some of the best leagues in the state (examples include West Catholic Athletic League south of San Francisco, Trinity League mostly in Orange County, Marmonte League in Ventura County, Tri-River Athletic Conference of Fresno/Clovis, Palomar League of North San Diego County, Sunset League in Orange County, East Bay Athletic League of Alameda County) rarely go one week without facing an opposing team capable of handing their team a loss.

      Good competition does raise the bar, Rodriguez said. It gives the players a sense of urgency. It pushes them to another level.

      Some of the schools in many of the top leagues also have cultivated a culture of success by highlighting the accomplishments of former players.

      The facilities at a lot of these schools are really good, Rodriguez said. A lot of them have upgraded in recent years. A place like El Dorado (Placentia) is a good example. The players there feel the history, know about the former players. They then try to match that.

      In recent years, as players coming from Latin America have done so well, combined with a drop in talent coming from previous California hotspots such as Oakland and Los Angeles, the state has admittedly slipped in its baseball dominance. It’s still clearly one of the best places in the world to learn how to play the game.

      In this book, each level of the game will be examined, but the focus will be on high schools, especially as it relates to where so many great players in the game have come from.

      Perhaps the most impactful of those players has been Jackie Robinson, who competed against white athletes in several sports while at John Muir High of Pasadena in the 1930s. Did the fact that Robinson came from a state that already was in one sense integrated aid him in his quest to break into the major leagues in 1947? A Californian might say yes.

      Once going through everything, if anyone isn’t convinced that California isn’t truly The Baseball Capital of the World, then those people probably just have too much Texas barbeque sauce or Florida orange juice in their veins.

      This is the immortal Jackie Robinson trying to grab

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1