Another year has passed and despite many wishing it was not the case, Lakewood High was the class of the 2010 Moore League and Long Beach area baseball scene.

Lakewood (28-6, 10-2) won their eighth Moore League championship since 2000, they won nine more games and scored 84 more runs than their next closest Moore League foe.

Lakewood was led by senior first baseman-pitcher and Moore League MVP Jeff Yamaguchi, who hit .459 with 51 hits, 44 EBI and 44 runs scored. He also went 10-2 on the mound with a 2.70 ERA.

Hunter Jones was a remarkable addition to the Lancers via Kentucky. Jones hit .433 with 45 hits, 35 RBI and a school-best 52 runs scored. Jones also broke the stolen base record with 35.  Freshman J.P. Crawford put up stats that would rival any freshman in the country.  The Lancers shortstop hit .410 with 50 hits and 49 runs scored and is going to be a marquee player to watch over the next three years in Lakewood.

Anthony Razo (.463, 44 hits and 45 RBI) quietly led the Lancers in hits and RBI’s from the No. 5 spot in the lineup and was as solid as anyone this year. Sophomore Shane Watson went 8-2 with a 1.34 ERA and if the lanky right-hander is able to conquer his youthful internal issues, he could be considered arguably the area’s best returning pitcher.

Tyler Schultz (.333, 33 hits, 16 RBI) won’t have much off-time as he’ll soon prepare to replace USC-bound Jesse Scroggins as the Lancers quarterback. But Schultz was more than solid for Lakewood behind the plate.  Zach Alofaituli (.318, 28 hits, 28 RBI), Joey Bernal (.333, 29 hits, 17 RBI), Tyler Leidholdt (.301, 28 hits, 19 RBI) and Jimmy Gosano (.287, 27 hits, 10 RBI) rounded out the area’s most lethal offense.  Darren Gidley, Matt Padilla, Nick Sanchez, Danny Ittner and Nick Torres all ate up quality innings for the Lancers.

Millikan (16-14-1, 9-3) found a way to dig itself out of another early season rut and were a Poly victory over Lakewood on the final day from sharing a Moore League title.

Josh Frye (6-3, 0.89 ERA) carried a Rams team that struggled offensively all year and got zero runs of support in his losses to Lakewood (twice) and the season-ending defeat at Oxnard.  Frye allowed just eight earned runs in 63 innings, walked 15 and struck out 46 batters.  The Long Beach State-bound Frye had four complete games, one save and added a little pop to the Rams offense with 16 hits and eight RBI.  The Rams tied with Wilson at 9-3, but because Frye was able to defeat the Bruins twice, Millikan represented the Moore League as the No. 2 seed.

James Norman (3-0, 3.44 ERA) and Matt Clampitt (4-2, 3.03 ERA) combined with Frye, the 2009 Moore League MVP to win 13 of Millikan’s 16 games on the mound.  Clampitt battled through injuries all year and hit .317 with 20 hits and 10 RBI a year after being named to the Press-Telegram’s Dream Team with a .459 average and 39 hits.

Jordan Ybarra (.323) and Paul Slater (.333) were tied with a team-best 31 hits apiece and Avery Flores had 30 hits and a team-best .341 average (of those with at least 60 at bats). Ybarra led the Rams with 19 RBI. Dylan Sadler (.333), Jack Woodbury (.327), Josh Valdovinos (.315) and Adam Annella (.288) rounded up the Millikan offense.  James Peale was very solid in limited play with a .370 average in just 46 at bats.

Wilson (19-11-1, 9-3) was the most unpredictable team all year, but not only handed Lakewood its only two Moore League losses, the Bruins had the second most wins (overall) of any Moore League team, second most in total runs (200) and finished second with Millikan.

Cody Harris helped carry Wilson with a .372 average, 32 hits and 25 RBI and is considered one of the most beloved players in the entire area because of the class he displays on and off the field.  Phillip Visico hit. 400 with 24 hits and nine RBI, while Chris Hubbard (.346) had 28 hits and 26 RBI.

Keith White (.345, 30 hits, 15 RBI), Daniel Dewolf (.340 16 hits, 13 RBI), Blake Cooper (.313, 26 hits, 12 RBI), Matt Treece (.313, 21 hits, 11 RBI) and Myles Mendez (.372, 16 hits, 11 RBI) led the Bruins offensively.  Kyle Ritter (6-3, 3.24 ERA), Chase DeJong (4-2, 2.35 ERA) and Stefan Miladinovich (4-0, 2.60 ERA) led Wilson on the mound. Ty Provencher and Riley Parker were both big out of the bullpen for the Bruins.

Poly (15-12-1, 8-4) spent 44 days this season in the Moore League penthouse because of the emergence of superstar third baseman Thomas Walker.

Walker missed the first seven games and yet finished the season with a Long Beach-area best .526 average, had 40 hits, 28 RBI and a Moore League-best six home runs.  Walker’s numbers, however, don’t compare to the leadership and confidence he gives/gave a very young Jackrabbits team that came within a win over Lakewood from winning their first Moore League title since Ronald Reagan was President of the United States in 1985.

Jeff Turley (.386, 27 hits, 18 RBI), Henry Severson (.365, 31 hits, 23 RBI), Eric Gonzalez (.319, 23 hits, 14 RBI), Daniel Cook (.315, 29 hits, 18 RBI), Hayden Hunt (.308, 20 hits, 11 RBI), Tyler Maxwell (.311, 19 hits, 11 RBI) and James Harvey (.333, nine hits, nine RBI) all produced for Poly and coach Toby Hess.

Maxwell was considered the Jackrabbits’ ace, but the junior didn’t win a game this season.  Trevor Kellogg went 9-2 with a 3.29 ERA and freshman lefty Chris Castellanos showed signs of big things ahead after going 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA.

Compton (7-17, 2-10) made giant strides this season behind freshman Alvaro Perez, but the Tarbabes have a long ways to go if they’s to make the playoffs from the Moore League.  Compton did not post stats online.

Cabrillo (5-17, 2-10) was on the cusp of some big wins behind Ramiro Rosalez (3-3, 0.89 ERA), but the Jaguars flew south when Rosalez suffered an injury.  Aside from Rosalez, no Cabrillo pitcher had an ERA less than 5.85.  Louie Terrazas was solid all year and posted a .443 average with 31 hits and 19 runs scored.  Luis Venegas (.452, 14 hits), Wesley Madera (.321, 18 hits, nine RBI) and Armando Perez (.373) helped pace the Jags offensively.

If Marcos Lara’s worth to the Jordan High program was underestimated last year, it certainly wasn’t this year for a Jordan (5-22, 2-10) team that won half of the game from the previous year.

With Lara at Compton College, the Panthers got off to a horrid start and won just five games all season.  Robby Hurtado (.395, 30 hits, 12 RBI) and Richard Gallegos (.370, 17 hits, five RBI) were the only two Panthers with an average over the .300 mark.

BB’s Final Random Thoughts:

– Jeff Yamaguchi’s 99 hits over the past two seasons have him as well-regarded as any area player in recent memory.

– Josh Frye will go down as one of the best big-game performers of all-time in both the Moore League and the Long Beach area baseball scene.

– Thomas Walker should be considered the biggest offensive threat in the entire area and is someone that almost everyone can root for, because he plays the game the right way.

– Hunter Jones and Anthony Razo, if not playing during the same time as Jeff Yamaguchi, Josh Frye and Thomas Walker would be locks for the Moore League MVP and are as good as anyone in the area.

– J.P. Crawford, for my money, is the best freshman baseball player in the country. No, I certainly haven’t seen or heard of them all, but it would almost be impossible to think any freshman with 50 hits, 49 runs, 13 doubles a .410 average and 20 stolen bases.

– Cody Harris leaves Wilson as one of the classiest players at a school that has produced athletes and gentleman like Mike Wilder, Tanner Perkins and Jemari Roberts.

– Erick Bryant and Brian Reed are both making a positive difference at Cabrillo and Compton, respectively.

– Despite a disappointing combined 2-4 mark in the CIF-Southern Section Division I playoffs, there are kids, games and coaches from this 2010 season that will always hold a special place in many minds.

– Now that the fight is over, we’ll all root for Yamaguchi, Frye, Jones, Razo, Clampitt, Harris and the rest of the Moore League seniors who move on to the collegiate level and continue to chase their dreams.