Savage revisits ‘Eaters

Barry Faulkner

John Savage’s familiar walk into Anteater Ballpark tonight will be

shorter than he’s used to, but the first-year UCLA baseball coach has

longed for the opportunity to return to a place he’ll always hold

dear.

For three seasons, Savage strolled from the entrance in the right

field corner to the third-base dugout, where he shepherded the

Anteaters out of a nine-season hiatus that ended in 2002, to the

program’s first berth in the NCAA Division I regionals last spring.

Tonight, however, the first-base dugout, where he will guide the

visiting Bruins, is his final destination.

“I’ve never coached a game from that dugout,” said Savage, whose

team defeated the Anteaters, 3-1, in their first meeting this year,

April 26 in Westwood. “But I’m really looking forward to being in

that ballpark.”

Savage is also looking forward to visiting with not only his

former players, against whom he said competing is bittersweet, but

with dozens of former colleagues with whom he forged valued

friendships.

“There’s a lot about Irvine I miss,” he said. “I miss the

ballpark, the area, the quality of education ... There are a lot of

positives. But the thing I miss most are the people. It’s all about

the people who I worked with day in and day out, in the department

and the administration.”

Savage said he will cherish another visit with the UCI players,

all but a handful were recruited by him and his coaches, including

current UCLA assistants Pat Shine and Matt Jones.

“We have ties to just about every player on the roster and I’ll

always want them to be successful, not only as individuals, but as a

team,” Savage said. “Being in the thick of the Big West Conference

race, they have done well this year.

“We have 56 games on our schedule and we want to win every one.

You try to treat every game the same, but this one will have special

meaning, especially since it’s at Irvine.”

Savage said his departure after last season was awkward, simply

because it came after school was out and UCI players had scattered

the country to play in various summer leagues.

“In our business, you usually change jobs in July, so you never

get to have a big meeting with the players and the parents and say a

proper goodbye,” Savage said. While UCI is 25-20, 7-8 in conference,

Savage has had a difficult transition year in Westwood. The Bruins

(11-33, 1-14 in the Pac 10), endured a 19-game losing streak.

“We’ve struggled on the field this season and it has been

frustrating,” Savage said.

“When I came in at Irvine, we had the chance to build the roster

from scratch. Here, we’re still trying to learn what we have.”

For one night, at least, win or lose, Savage will relish the

reminder of what he had.