After the movie A League of Their Own , a fictional movie based on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League , several women's baseball leagues were attempted, including Ladies League Baseball , which began play in 1997. The first five teams in the league were the San Jose Spitfire, San Francisco Bay Sox, Long Beach Aces, Phoenix Peppers and Los Angeles Legends.
11-863: In the 1997 season, the league consisted of five teams: the San Jose Spitfire, San Francisco Bay Sox, Long Beach Aces, Phoenix Peppers and Los Angeles Legends. In the league's championship the San Jose Spitfires defeated the Los Angeles Legends. Janelle T. Frese of the Los Angeles Legends won the Ladies League Baseball "Most Outstanding Pitcher" award for the 1997 season. In 1997 the Long Beach Aces played at Blair Field in Long Beach, California ,
22-900: A difficult time filling the stands at Blair Field and were forced to disband after the inaugural season. In 1998, the league expanded and changed its name to the Ladies Professional Baseball League . The league expanded eastward by adding teams in Buffalo, New York , and Augusta, New Jersey , and moving the Los Angeles Legends to Homestead, Florida. The newly expanded league planned a 56-game schedule starting in July and ending in September. The Ladies Professional Baseball League canceled its second season after only 12 games were played. Michael Ribant, league president and founder, blamed low fan turnout. The average attendance
33-502: A new scoreboard, were made in 1999. In 2008, CSULB and the City of Long Beach built a new scoreboard with a full LCD color video screen and LED score displays. Prior to the 2016 season, a new outfield fence was built. The new fence reduced the dimensions of the park, while providing a safer, padded barrier for outfielders. In 2017, the Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility as well as
44-556: Is a list of schools that participate in NCAA Division I baseball . In the 2024 season, 300 Division I schools competed. These teams compete to go to the 64-team Division I baseball tournament and then to Omaha, Nebraska , and Charles Schwab Field , for the eight-team Men's College World Series (MCWS). Conference affiliations are current for the upcoming 2025 NCAA baseball season. Years of conference changes, indicated in footnotes, reflect baseball seasons, which take place in
55-788: Is the home of the Long Beach State 49ers baseball team, " the Dirtbags ," and former home of the defunct Western Baseball League team, the Long Beach Breakers, and the defunct Golden Baseball League team, the Long Beach Armada . In 1992, $ 1.475 million was spent to renovate the 3,238-seat facility. New spectator seating, field lights, a playing field with state-of-the-art drainage system, and turf which exceeds professional baseball standards were installed. Additional improvements, including 774 new box seats and
66-611: The Jered Weaver Bullpen were constructed. In 2012, the Dirtbags ranked 46th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,391 per home game. Blair Field has hosted six MTV Rock N' Jock softball games. It has also been the filming location for numerous film, TV, and commercial productions, including the movies Space Jam and Moneyball . The Minnesota Vikings practiced at Blair Field prior to Super Bowl XI in nearby Pasadena . List of NCAA Division I baseball programs The following
77-527: The calendar year after a conference change takes effect. Numbers of appearances in the NCAA Tournament and MCWS, plus MCWS titles, are current through the 2024 college baseball season. These schools are in transition from Division II or III to Division I. For scheduling purposes, they are considered to be Division I institutions, but they will not be eligible for the NCAA tournament until completing
88-484: The home of the Long Beach State University baseball program. They were coached by Don Barbara , former professional player and assistant coach at Sacramento State . Barbara played at Long Beach State and was a Dirtbag assistant coach, later becoming the head recruiter and hitting coach at Sacramento State. The Aces were also coached by Joe Magno, who assumed the role of Aces bench coach. Magno
99-703: Was a scout with the Cincinnati Reds and later became a minor league bench coach for the Western Baseball League champion Long Beach Breakers in 2001. Magno's coaching career started as an assistant coach at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida , and continued at Long Beach State, where he ran the Dirtbags showcase camps from 1995 to 1997. Magno later coached high school baseball at Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California. The Aces had
110-469: Was constructed in 1958 and over the years has fostered local amateur baseball and hosted Moore League high school football and baseball teams, along with American Legion and Connie Mack baseball. The Chicago Cubs baseball team held spring training at the ballpark in 1966 , the Los Angeles Rams football team and Olympic teams have used the site for practice or exhibition games . It
121-569: Was less than 500 per game. The projected losses for the 1998 season became too great, and the league folded. Blair Field Blair Field is a stadium in Long Beach, California . It originally opened in 1956 and is primarily used for baseball . It holds 3,238 people. It is named for Frank Blair, the sports editor for the Long Beach Press-Telegram newspaper for 32 years. Located in Recreation Park , it
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