In September 2017, a week before Labor Day, owner Erik Wagle received the go-ahead to begin the expansion of his facility, Dub Baseball. He wasn’t about to waste a second in getting started.
“Once we got the green light, we put a ton of wheels in motion,” he said. “In two days, we knocked down a wall, constructed a new wall and moved everything in and out of the place and was running by Labor Day. It was quite a monumental effort to get it done.”
To celebrate the expansion of the facility—it went from 3,700 square feet to 6,900—Dub Baseball has a grand reopening event on Nov. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. The event is open to the public, with all attendees eligible to enter for free raffle prizes, which include a Rawlings glove and a free assessment from ID3 Training (a $99 value).
Dub Baseball has partnered with ID3 Training, which provides the first baseball specific sports training in the area, Wagle said. Wagle and ID3 Training owner Dan Cabuling started a partnership in March.
“He’s back there in the weight room with the whole shebang,” Wagle said. “He’s developed a really quick following and is doing an awesome job with all the individual assessments of each athlete and building specific workouts for that person. It’s very specific and high level and not just general training.”
The expansion of Dub Baseball has been in the works for a while, and it took a group effort to get things done.
“We had parents in the program that had a construction business and lent their resources and helped out,” Wagle said. “It was pretty awesome to see everyone come together. I told everyone I know it sounds crazy, but we’re going to get it done this very moment. It was literally a Thursday or Friday night where we signed the new lease and then had workers at 6 a.m. the next day. Our fall season was starting after Labor Day, and we wanted things pretty much done with the start of the new season. We didn’t want to do a ton of construction when teams were working out in there.”
The larger Dub Baseball facility provides greater resources for the athletes, some of which will be on display on Monday. Dub Baseball and ID3 Training will provide free hitting, training information and live demonstrations that feature stations set up with radio technology for velocity readings (both exit and throwing velocity). One of Dub Baseball’s sponsors, Wilson, will have a representative present. Free food and drinks will also be provided at the event.
Dub Baseball currently has seven teams in the 11- to 18-age range, with its 18-and-under team featuring several players who are being recruited by colleges. Some of the players off that team who have committed to play in college include Christopher High’s Garret Santos (Fresno Pacific) and Jacob Ornellas, who is deciding between Cal Lutheran and Oregon Tech, Wagle said.
Wagle added that Cole Davis of St. Francis is “close to committing to Sonoma State,” and San Benito High’s Brady Miguel is being recruited by a couple of colleges.
