CdM baseball celebrates past

In a memorable monologue from “Field of Dreams,” Terence Mann,

played by James Earl Jones, tells Kevin Costner’s character

“(Baseball) is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that was once

good, and that could be again.”

Corona del Mar High baseball coach John Emme has embraced this

sentiment with the formation of the CdM Baseball Hall of Fame,

created to honor the individuals and teams that are not only a

prominent part of the past, but, he hopes, beacons for the future.

The inaugural class will be inducted Nov. 16 at the Hyatt

Newporter, at a banquet which will serve as a fund-raiser, alumni

reunion, and celebration of a program that has produced two CIF

Southern Section championships (1981 and 1999), as well as a handful

of major league players.

Former major-leaguer Matt Keough, who starred for the Sea Kings in

the early 1970s before pitching nine major league seasons for five

teams (most notably the Oakland A’s), will be joined by inaugural

inductees Jeff Pries, Ty Harper and the 1981 CIF championship team.

Pries was the CIF Player of the Year as a senior on the 1981 team,

while Harper was CIF Player of the Year while leading the 1999 squad

to a Southern Section Division IV crown.

Pries was an All-American at UCLA and was selected in the first

round as a pitcher by the New York Yankees. His professional career

was cut short by an arm injury.

Harper, a senior first baseman-designated hitter at Pepperdine,

owns not only most of the school’s career offensive records (.514

average, 132 hits, 24 home runs and 99 RBIs), but those of the

Newport-Mesa District as well.

The $100 ticket price will include tributes to the Hall of Fame’s

Class of 2002, dinner, live and silent memorabilia auctions, an

as-yet-unnamed guest speaker, and a presentation of the school’s

baseball stadium project, to which all proceeds will go. Emme hopes

the stadium project, the initial phase of which is estimated to cost

$400,000, will be in place for the 2004 season, though economic

trends indicate it could take longer. Emme said just more than

$100,000 has been raised, to date.

The stadium and facilities, which will eventually include a

permanent display area to recognize members of the Hall of Fame, will

cost around $900,000.

“We want it to include past, present and future members of the

program,” Emme said of the banquet, scheduled from 6-10 p.m.

Emme is encouraging not only former players and parents, but

members of the community to attend the first of what he plans to make

an annual event. Emme is also using the event to help build an alumni

registry he hopes to maintain for years to come.

Those interested in attending the induction banquet, registering

as alumni, or donating auction items, may contact Emme at

jemmeAmail.nmusd.

k12.ca.us or by phoning (714) 424-7575 ext. 4002. Dave Sprowl

(949) 295-1004 can also provide information. Alumni may also register

at the program’s Web site: cdmbaseball.com.

*

Like the NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony, each CdM inductee

will be introduced by an individual of their choosing. Harper’s

presenter will be his father Walt, whom, Emme predicts, will deliver

an address worth the price of admission.

*

The Corona del Mar High football team was ravaged by injury in

2001 and with several key players already sidelined this season, the

trend appears to have spilled over.

Even Coach Dick Freeman is not immune. The former Colorado and

Long Beach State offensive lineman stepped into to a blocking drill

last week and, after a couple spirited demonstrations, came away with

a lump on his forehead that was trickling blood.

*

Speaking of injuries, Newport Harbor junior Jaime Diefenbach, a

key member of both the Sailors’ boys basketball and volleyball

programs, tore an ACL during sixth-period basketball class last week

and is out for the basketball season.

“He was running down the court in a five-on-none drill and he just

pulled up,” Sailors basketball coach Larry Hirst said.

Hirst said the 6-foot-8 post player, who averaged nearly four

points last season, his second on the varsity, is expected to have

surgery this week.

With recovery estimates ranging from four to six months,

Diefenbach’s availability for the volleyball season is also doubtful.

Former Sailor Greg Perrine, now playing basketball at Chapman

University, recuperated from late-July ACL surgery in about four

months to play most of the 2001-02 basketball season and all of the

volleyball campaign last spring.

*

By hosting Cypress Friday night at Newport Harbor High, CdM became

the last team in Orange County to play a home game this season.

This designation, however, comes with a bold asterisk, since two

of the Sea Kings “road” games were at Newport Harbor: Week 1 against

Costa Mesa and Week 3 against Newport Harbor in the Battle of the

Bay.