Twenty-five years ago this week, Pepperdine University’s
baseball team became the fifth- ranked team in the country behind
top ranked Arizona State, Texas, Oklahoma State and Michigan.
Twenty-five years ago this week, Pepperdine University’s baseball team became the fifth- ranked team in the country behind top ranked Arizona State, Texas, Oklahoma State and Michigan.
Now, I’m not one for nostalgia but I was extremely proud at the time because I was the pitching coach and we were on our way to a league championship series with Cal State Fullerton and an eventual regional appearance against Stanford, Fresno State and Hawaii.
Thinking back 25 years ago, and thinking that 25 years is some sort of anniversary milestone or achievement, brought back a lot of memories. Having recently moved from one side of town to the other gave me the perfect chance and excuse to pull out my personal memorabilia, much to the chagrin of my wife.
I soon realized and recognized that 1982 was a historic year locally for professional, amateur and youth baseball.
An outfielder from Serra High School in San Mateo was drafted that year and he’s about to become the all-time home run leader, possibly overtaking Henry Aaron sometime soon. Yep, Barry Bonds. Drafted by the San Francisco Giants, he opted to go to college and the rest is history.
Other notables drafted that year include Randy Johnson, Will Clark, Bo Jackson, Jose Canseco, David Wells, Pete Incaviglia and the first player taken in the draft, Shawn Dunston, who signed for a mere $100,000 with the Chicago Cubs.
Kansas City Royals standout Bret Saberhagen was also drafted that year in the 19th round as was Kenny Williams from Mount Pleasant High School, who orchestrated the Chicago White Sox World Series championship two years ago as its general manager.
Little known Joe Westley was drafted in the 25th round that year out of Silver Creek High School, the first player taken in the draft from that school. And Robert Woodock was the last player taken in the draft in the 47th round out of USF.
Kirkland, Washington, won the Little League World Series that year but I’ll bet you didn’t know that Oak Grove Little League from South San Jose was the Northern California champion. And the Baseball Bunch TV show with Johnny Bench was a hit with youth players each week as the San Diego Chicken and Tommy Lasorda (the Dugout Wizard) instructed players on the fundamentals of the game.
That same year an article was published by the Journal of Athletic Training telling youth pitchers they should concentrate on proper pitching mechanics, stretch and strengthen their shoulders and limit pitches. Geez, aren’t we saying the same things these days!
Gas was $1.24 a gallon in 1982, “ET” was the top movie, Epcot opened in Disneyworld, the first artificial heart transplant took place, Boeing came out with the 747, the Cardinals won the World Series and Cal Ripken won Rookie of the Year honors.
Needless to say, Pepperdine lost in the regionals in 1982 to Stanford, who had a pretty good player by the name of Mike Aldrete, who, after serving as the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks during the past two years, is back coaching at Salinas High School. Fresno State had a player that year by the name of Terry Pendleton, now the hitting coach of the Atlanta Braves.
Wow, what a 25 years it’s been and I noticed Pepperdine is forging it’s way back into the top 10 in the country. After all this time some things never change.
Rich Taylor is the CEO and head instructor of California Pitching Academy and a scout for the New York Mets. Reach him at [email protected].
