Cal Baseball Foundation

Golden Bear News & Notes 3 Coach David Esquer Coach's Corner: T ime to get started! Fall workouts for the 2014-15 Cal Baseball team have started as classes began on August 28, and a new year is underway. The Cal Baseball family welcomes eight freshmen for fall workouts: Jeff Bain (RHP) San Moreno H.S., Erik Martinez (RHP), South Hills H.S., Matt Ladrech (LHP) Campolindo H.S., Preston Grand Pre (SS) Laguna Beach, H.S., Denis Karas (3B) Campolindo H.S., Brett Cumberland (C) Turlock H.S., Matt Ruff (C) Valencia H.S., and Elijah Smith (2B/OF) Campolindo H.S. It turned out to be a very busy summer with recruiting and our youth camps, but now it is time to prepare for the season and a return to the NCAA playoffs. In addition to the freshman class, our baseball program is happy to welcome back Brad Sanfilippo as an assistant coach. Brad will work with the hitters and the field players and will be a welcome addition to the staff. Brad is returning after a two-year stint as an assistant at San Jose State, where he developed a reputation as a relentless recruiter. In addition to Brad, our starting shortstop and catcher from last year's graduating class, Mike Reuvekamp, will return as an assistant coach. We are excited to have Mike's energy and leadership around our players for another year. Our fall begins with four weeks of strength and conditioning, as well as individual skill work. Team practice, which will include weekly intrasquad games, will begin in early October. Practices will continue right up to the Thanksgiving holiday and semester finals. In addition to team practices, this fall our team will engage in several community service projects, including a day working at the Alameda food bank and a visit to the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland. We would like to congratulate two Cal Bears who were members of All-Star teams this summer. Tyson Ross was chosen to the MLB National League All-Star team, and Chris Paul was again a member of the Northwoods League All-Star Team for the second consecutive year. We are looking forward to the journey that the upcoming season will present and are focused on our mission of returning to the playoffs and making a run at Omaha in 2015! O n July 30, 2014, our very own 2002 Golden Bear and current Cubs catcher John Baker made history at Wrigley Field! During the longest game in the ballpark's 100-year history (6 hours and 27 minutes), John entered the annals of Cubs lore as the first and only position player in their history to be the game's winning pitcher. He is the first player to both pitch and catch for the Cubs since 1896. After 15 innings and a depleted bullpen, the manager scanned the bench and saw John looking ready to go. John had last pitched in the Cape Cod League, but with no other arms available, John took the mound and proceeded to dispense with the Rockies in short order. He faced just three Rockies batters and threw 11 pitches–6 for strikes–using his knuckleball, sinker, and change-up at a speed of up to 78 mph. He walked one batter but induced a double play to end the inning. John's heroics didn't stop there. Leading off the bottom of the 16th with a walk, three batters later, he was standing on third with the bases loaded and just one out. With the fans on their feet chanting "Bake- ur! Bake-ur!," John scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly. Asked by Jesse Ingram, former teammate and Cal Baseball Foundation board member, what the most memorable moment of the night was, John said, "Sliding into home plate and then celebrating in the locker room with my teammates was a truly remarkable moment. We've had a tough season and lost a lot of close games, but that celebration was amazing. All that was missing was champagne and ski goggles." Congratulations to John on his place in Cubs history! John Baker: One for the Record Books! Brad Sanfilippo Mike Reuvekamp Chris Paul

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