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Time to Honor the 49er Greats
by Bob Keisser, Long Beach Press-Telegram
September 19, 2006
Voting for the Top 30 players in Long Beach State
baseball history will continue on the school's athletic Web site
through September. Here's one man's Top 20, listed alphabetically:
Kyle Abbott, P (1989): Ace of the '89 College World Series team,
winning 15 games with a 2.73 ERA. First 49er to be a first-round
draft pick in the program in almost 20 years. He had a school-record
135 innings and 140 strikeouts in 1989.
Abe Alvarez, P (2001-03): Left-hander with a crooked hat was a
mainstay in the rotation and a one-two punch with Weaver, going
12-3 in 2002 and 11-2 in 2003.
Don Anderson, OF (1962-64): Probably the best player of the early
era, he hit .436 to lead the team in 1964, the first 49er team to
win a league title.
Don Barbara, 1B (1989-90): One of the original Dirtbags, he hit
a school-record .474 in 1990 and helped lead the '89 team to its
first-ever College World Series appearance. Holds career record
for average (.429).
Daniel Choi, P (1993): The right-hander from Korea wasn't on the
preseason roster in 1993 but made a huge impact, posting a 17-2
record, a single-season school record for wins, and led the team
to Omaha.
Andy Croghan, P (1989-91): Somewhat overshadowed by Abbott and
Steve Trachsel, he went a stunning 33-7 in his three seasons.
Bobby Crosby, SS (1999-2001): The 2004 American League Rookie of
the Year was a three-year starter for the Dirtbags at shortstop,
with 21 career home runs and excellent defense and leadership.
Mike Gallo, P (1997-99): Embodied the Dirtbag ethic as well as
anyone, leading the team in ERA in 1998 and 1999 and was the ace
of the 1998 CWS staff. He went to the World Series with the Astros
last season.
Jason Giambi, 1B-3B (1990-92): Helped lead the Dirtbags to the
1991 College World Series, was the 2000 American League MVP while
with Oakland and is a four-time All-Star.
Gabe Gonzalez, P (1992-95): A two-time All-American and four-year
letterman, he was the quintessential college closer for Dave Snow's
teams. He had 46 saves in 121 appearances.
Neil Jamison, P (2002-05): Ranks behind Gonzalez as the best closer
in school history, posting a stunning 0.00 ERA in 2005 and saving
23 games in 2004-05.
Jeff Liefer, OF (1993-95): The school record holder for career
home runs (30) was an All-American and first-round pick. He hit
a dozen home runs in 1993 and hit .354 with 13 in 1995. In his eighth
major-league season.
Evan Longoria, 3B (2005-06): Was the top hitter on the 2006 team
and was the third player chosen in the 2006 draft, the highest any
Long Beach player has ever been selected.
Randy Moffitt, P (1968-69): The brother of Billie Jean King was
the first 49er to be a first-round major-league draft pick (in 1970)
and was a mainstay on the 1969 team that won the second league title
in school history. He had a 12-year major-league career as a closer
for the Giants (96 career saves).
Dave Snow, HC (1989-2001): Snow took over a team that won 15 games
in 1988 and won 50 in 1989 and advanced to the CWS. He won 511 games
at Long Beach, and not only revived the program but gave it an identity
that has stuck throughout college baseball.
Rob Townley, OF (1978-79): The slugger set school records for hits
(100) and RBI (70) in 1979 and hit .404 in his career, second all-time.
His RBI record stood until 1991.
Steve Trachsel, P (1991): Trachsel was an All-American, first-round
pick and the ace of the 1991 CWS team. He's in his 14th season in
the major leagues and was the first Dirtbag to make an All-Star
team.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS (2003-05): The hard-hitting shortstop made
the fastest jump to the major leagues in the Dirtbag era, arriving
to the Rockies this season after being a first-round pick in 2005.
He hit .349 with eight home runs despite injuries in 2005.
Jered Weaver, P (2002-04): The consensus college player of the
year in 2004, the only alum to ever win any of the top college awards,
Weaver won a school-record 37 games, struck out 431, and holds six
career school records. He was the biggest reason why the Angels
stayed in the AL West race this year as long as they did. He had
a 1.96 ERA with 14 wins in 2003, and 1.61 with 15 wins in 2004.
Bob Wuesthoff, HC (1964-69): The head coach for six years won the
first two league titles in school history and had the best winning
percentage of any coach in the pre-Snow era.
Others to consider: Rocky Biddle (P) saved 46 games in the majors.
... Rod Gaspar was the best player on the 1966-67 teams and played
for the Miracle Mets in 1969. ... Chris Gomez (SS) was a key starter
on the 1992 team and is in his 15th major-league season. ... Jaime
Leal (OF-DH) hit a school-record 24 home runs in 1999, his only
season with the program. ... Dick Nen (1B), the father of Robb Nen
and brief hero of the Dodgers' 1963 World Series team, was the first
49er to make it to the pros. ... Jeremy Reed (OF) was a catalyst
on two teams, with 54 career steals, second all-time. ... The 1998
CWS team featured four solid stars in catcher Bryan Kennedy, outfielders
Chuck Lopez (.422, 113 hits) and Terrmel Sledge (99 runs, 22 career
home runs) and third baseman Paul Day (89 RBI). ... Cesar Ramos
(P) won 28 games in his career. ... Jason Vargas (P/DH) was a key
two-way player in 2004.
- Bob Keisser
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Long Beach State may not have its own Heritage
Hall like USC, but that doesn't mean it lacks a heritage.
For a state university that deflated football and plays half as many
sports as, say, Stanford, the 49ers have staked out their own corner of
the sports world. The school has won national titles in volleyball. It
was ahead of the curve in promoting women's basketball. It has produced
its share of Olympians.
It also took a baseball program with all of the accoutrements of the
Mojave and turned it into a lifestyle.
Considering its stature, acknowledging that heritage is almost as important
as winning games on the field or courts. Job One for new athletic director
Vic Cegles is restoring men's basketball as a profit-turning and winning
venture, and Job Two is raising money.
Reminding people what the school has achieved is a big part of that process.
The Dirtbags have taken in turning history into something fresh. Head
coach Mike Weathers came up with the idea of naming the Top 30 baseball
players in school history via an Internet poll on the school's Web site.
Once the public has submitted their own lists of the Top 15 players,
the numbers will be counted and the Top 30 named. Sometime early in the
2007 season, banners featuring the pictures and likeness of these players
will be hoisted on the light poles and other fixtures at Blair Field.
A ceremony of some sort will be held, perhaps at the annual Alumni Game
in January, which has the best chance of luring home the Jason Giambis,
Jered Weavers and Randy Moffitts of the past.
Along this same line, the men's volleyball program is creating its own
Wall of Honor similar to the one that exists in the Pyramid for Brian
Gimmillaro's women's team.
New ventures like this are necessary since some of the old athletic staples
need refreshing.
The annual "Jewels of the Night" fund-raiser has been a key
meeting place for alums, boosters and athletes past and present, but it
seems due for a reworking of sorts.
The 49er Hall of Fame will increase to 187 members when the 2006 class
is inducted in October, and the incoming class includes former Dirtbag
shortstop and 2004 American League Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby and
one-time quarterback Joe Paopao, who has had a sterling playing and coaching
career in the Canadian Football League.
But it has reached the point where the honor has as much to do with their
status in the greater community as it does the university.
Howard Lyon was far better known as a high school basketball coach than
he was a starter on the first-ever 49er basketball team. Likewise Dave
Rodda, who has been a key figure in women's track and field and sports
programs in Lakewood.
So new programs to promote the school's heritage is a good fit.
Which brings one to basketball.
For the longest time, a core group of 49er basketball fans, who remember
the days when the team's colors were brown-and-gold, not black-and-gold,
have wondered why there hasn't been a greater effort to bring former players
back into the program.
So little is made of the past that aside from Hall of Famer Ed Ratleff
and 49er-for-life Glenn McDonald, one wouldn't physically know Long Beach
State had a basketball heritage.
Aside from the concept of creating goodwill among alums, a ceremony honoring
the Jerry Tarkanian era is long overdue.
The fact the school was put on probation for NCAA indiscretions and that
Tark jumped to UNLV has always been a sore spot, but some 30 years later,
everyone should be over it.
The recent passing of Leonard Gray was a reminder of how transitory life
can be, and it's a shame he never had the chance to receive a standing
ovation from 49er fans of today.
Those weren't just good teams. They were good teams featuring memorable
people. There were 10 players from the early '70s who played for Tark
and his immediate successor, Lute Olson, who were drafted in the first
three rounds by the NBA and went on to play in the association.
Besides Gray, Ratleff and McDonald, there were Bob Gross, Eric McWilliams,
Clifton Pondexter, Roscoe Pondexter, Sam Robinson, Chuck Terry and George
Trapp.
These guys deserve a night of their own. It's also time for Tarkanian
to have a jersey hoisted onto the wall of the Pyramid alongside that of
Ratleff and the volleyball icons.
And after that's done, maybe one can be raised for John Rambo, the greatest
multi-sport star in school history.
Who knows, if enough of the past is embraced and the ties to the past
linked to today, and with it the requisite dollars, maybe Cegles and F.
King Alexander can sit down and have a discussion about football.
Until then, vote for your favorite Dirtbags on the school's Web site.
Fill out the entire ballot, too, because incomplete ballots aren't being
counted. Don't forget about the early teams, too. There were many good
49ers before the current era of Dirtbags.
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