For Aztec Baseball Team, Hawaii Isn’t Exactly Paradise

This evening, the San Diego State University baseball team will take its pride, a 42-15-1 record and the good wishes of family and friends into the University of Hawaii’s Rainbow Stadium.

And maybe the Aztecs will gain their first regular-season victory at Hawaii in four years.

To win the regular-season Western Athletic Conference title, SDSU (18-4 in the conference) must sweep the four weekend games from Hawaii (20-3-1). But 16 consecutive times, the Aztecs have swaggered onto the field in Hawaii, and 16 consecutive times, they have stumbled off. Since 1980, when Hawaii joined the Western Athletic Conference, the Aztecs are 8-27 on the island. Since 1984, they are 0-16.

Hawaii always fields a good team, but it isn’t as if there is that much difference. In San Diego, the Aztecs are 19-14 against Hawaii since 1980, 10-6 since 1984.

Put SDSU in Hawaii, and some strange things start to happen. And to believe them, you had better be ready to let go of your imagination.

“A pineapple came rolling across the infield one day,” said Tony Gwynn, the San Diego Padre outfielder who traveled to Hawaii with the Aztecs in 1979, 1980 and 1981. “It was during a WAC game in 1980. The pitcher--I think it was Nick Harsh--wound up, pitched, the guy fouled it off, and here comes a pineapple rolling across the infield.

“In the outfield, you’re kind of safe. But in the infield, I’ve seen bottles thrown, beer cans, apples and oranges.”

And a pineapple. In the middle of a game.

“Oh, yeah,” Gwynn said, warming up. “In a rally. I’ve seen stuff come flying out of the stands when a guy’s rounding third trying to score. I mean, it’s a tough place to play.

“In the stadium, I remember, the fans were right on top of you. Right on top of your dugout. There were no seats in the outfield. Everything was right down the lines. And you can’t escape the fans. You can’t hear the outfielders calling balls or the infielders calling pop-ups.”

The Rainbow Stadium that Tony Gwynn remembers was built in 1975. In its original form, it featured a grass field and metal bleachers that seated about 2,000 fans.

In 1984, a remodeled version of the stadium opened with 4,312 individual seats. An artificial playing surface was installed in 1985. The fans still are right on top of the visitors--literally.

First baseman Harry Henderson, who is making his third trip to Hawaii this year, said: “In 1986, after Hawaii had beaten us three in a row and was about ready to sweep us in the fourth game, a man started walking on our dugout roof waving a broom and yelling, ‘Sweep.’ There was water on the dugout roof, and he would push it into the dugout with his broom and it would hit you.

“One of our coaches threw some (tobacco) at him, and he got so mad he broke the broom and the handle flew into our dugout and almost hit someone in the eye.”

According to assistant coach Gary Brown, who is in his sixth year at SDSU, the player was infielder Nikco Riesgo, and the broom handle cut Riesgo near the eye.

To the Aztecs, the Hawaii fans are maniacs.

Said Henderson: “On the field, the fans rag you and try to get your attention by calling you names.”

Said Brown: “I can remember them calling Flavio Alfaro (who played at SDSU in 1983 and 1984 and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team) every name in the book.”

Coach Jim Dietz credits the Hawaii fans for spurring SDSU to create “Ragger’s Rail” at Smith Field, a porch in right field where the more boisterous Aztec fans gather and compose creative insults.

“That’s how Ragger’s Rail started,” Dietz said. “In Hawaii’s old ballpark, fans would throw rocks over the outfield fence, and our players would come back with a chip on their shoulders.”

In remodeled Rainbow Stadium, the outfield fence is 12 feet high. Even the most accurate rock-thrower would have trouble negotiating a toss over that. Still, the Aztecs have trouble in Hawaii--and it’s not just because the players would rather go sightseeing and to the beaches than the ballpark. Well, on second thought . . .

“It’s really intimidating to play in their stadium,” Dietz said. “We just don’t have a facility (to compare). We have 400 seats here, and they have nearly 5,000 there.”

Said Brown: “It’s like a major league stadium on a smaller scale. I know the freshmen we’ve taken there in the past have been in awe.”

Hawaii is averaging 2,726 fans per game this season, and every home game is televised state-wide.

“In order to understand it, you’ve got to go over there for a series,” Gwynn said. “I honestly think UH baseball is bigger than any professional team they could have over there. When I played triple A for the Islanders (a former Padre farm team, in 1982), the support we got was not even close to the support UH got.”

In the old days, the distractions occurred away from the ballpark as well. When the Aztecs checked into their hotel, the action started.

“People would try to sell you things to try to take your mind off what you were supposed to be doing,” Gwynn said. “You name it, they tried to sell it . . . jewelry, diamonds, dope, bicycles, anything.

“People would just call our rooms . . . ‘What are you doing? Are you having fun?’ You don’t even know these people, and they want to know how your mom and dad are doing.

“I know people aren’t going to believe it, but it’s true. A guy would come to the park and say, ‘Hey, some guy called today and wanted me to buy some diamonds,’ and I’d say, ‘He called you, too?’

Henderson said the Aztecs haven’t come across such off-the-field shenanigans in recent trips. Still, Dietz orders the team’s hotel phones to be turned off in Hawaii.

The schools have been rivals mostly because both have quality baseball programs that are usually in the running for the WAC championship. But the rivalry grew more heated in 1981, when Dietz and Hawaii Coach Les Murakami had the first of a history of disagreements.

Hawaii won the Southern Division of the WAC that year, and Brigham Young won the Northern Division (the conference is no longer divided this way). BYU beat Hawaii in the WAC playoffs, and then SDSU was chosen over Hawaii as an at-large team for the NCAA playoffs.

Dietz was on the NCAA selection committee but didn’t get a vote since his team was under consideration for a tournament berth. That didn’t matter to the folks in Hawaii, who thought that Dietz might have pulled some strings to get his team into the playoffs.

“I’m sure that started it,” Dietz said. “They picked the at-large teams through a conference phone call, and I wasn’t even involved. I was as shocked as anybody that we were picked.”

And then, in 1985, Dietz, contending that Hawaii was using an ineligible player, turned Hawaii in to the WAC and NCAA. After an investigation, the player was declared eligible.

“It wasn’t Hawaii’s fault,” Dietz said. “The player lied on the historical forms he filled out (when transferring to Hawaii). I still get hate mail from that.”

Dave Kuhn, SDSU’s baseball sports information director, said the hate mail started in 1981 after the at-large tournament berth controversy.

“I saw some of those letters, and they’re nuts,” Kuhn said. “The language, calling him every name you can think of.”

How well do Hawaii and SDSU get along? In 1986, SDSU pitcher Steve Mills was lifted during a game, and he was so frustrated he bashed in the garbage can in the Aztec dugout.

A few weeks later, the Aztecs received a bill for about $30 to pay for a new garbage can. Said Murakami: “(Dietz and I) have had our differences, let’s face it. I don’t think it needs any elaboration.”

And then he added: “If they come over here this year and can’t win, they must be psyched out. If they’re ever going to win, it should be this year.”

The Rainbows lost two of their top pitchers from last year’s team, and Rocky Ynclan, who was expected to be one of their best pitchers this year, has been ineffective because of a sore arm.

Plus, of the four-game set this weekend, only tonight’s game will be played at Rainbow Stadium. Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s game will be at Aloha Stadium, where the football team plays, because of commencement activities at Rainbow.

“There’s no doubt we’re not happy about it, but when administration tells you to move, you move,” Murakami said.

Maybe this year will be different. But in the past, when the two teams have finished playing, there has been one word to best describe SDSU’s attitude toward Hawaii: Aloha.

BLUE HAWAII SDSU’s record in regular-season series with Hawaii since Hawaii joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1980. (Beginning this season, WAC baseball teams do not play home-and-home series; instead, they travel to each school every other year. SDSU is at Hawaii this year.)

Year at Hawaii at SDSU Overall 1980 1-4 2-2 3-6 1981 4-1 3-1 7-2 1982 1-4 1-4 2-8 1983 2-2 3-1 5-3 1984 0-4 4-0 4-4 1985 0-4 1-3 1-7 1986 0-4 4-0 4-4 1987 0-4 1-3 1-7 Total 8-27 19-14 27-41