Blair Field magic is contagious

You can have an acquaintance for five years without truly coecting, but five days together in a stressful situation can make you best friends. That is me and Blair Field right now. I have covered sports in Long Beach and at Blair Field for a decade, but last weekend the NCAA Regional changed my relationship with the historic ballpark.

Built in 1958, beautiful Blair Field has a baseball legacy that’s highlighted by Long Beach State. However, my love for the pitchers’ paradise is much more nuanced.

First of all, the Blair Field optics are unbeatable. You haven’t lived if you’ve never seen a colorful Long Beach sunset reflect off of the tall trees lining the outfield fence. And despite year-around action from LBSU, high schools and showcase games, the grounds crew somehow keeps the playing surface clean and green. The mound is still one of the best I’ve ever seen.

Even the grandstands at Blair Field seem like they’re designed to make the almost 3,000 capacity crowd louder. The angled overhanging roof bounces sound around the concrete base, including the floor of the press box. And the hallow metal backing at the top of the stands is perfect for banging the preverbal drum during a rally.

Like any old ballpark, the facility has grit. Blair Field can be called the Wrigley Field of college baseball and no one goes to Wrigley for the luxury boxes. However, the timing of the Dirtbags’ success couldn’t be better for Blair. LBSU is in the midst of refurbishing the stadium and unveiled the Troy and Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility, the Jered Weaver Bullpen as well as the updated clubhouse at the 2017 Fan Fest in January.

“Blair Field is a jewel,” Dirtbags coach Troy Buckley said. “I love the nostalgia and history here, but this is an upgrade for the community and the game.”

LBSU paid $1 to the City of Long Beach in 2010 to take over the lease and tu the facility into its full-time home. The original ballpark was built for $500,000 and named after Press-Telegram editor Frank Blair. It went though massive renovations in 1992 and 1999. This year, Dirtbag products Evan Longoria and Jason Vargas both contributed $100,000 for the next phase of renovations that will include permanent lights. LBSU had to rent temporary lights this month to host the nationally televised NCAA Regional.

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“This is another example of why we need to upgrade Blair Field,” LBSU senior associate athletic director Rob Clark said. “It will not only strengthen Long Beach State, but it will also strengthen baseball in Long Beach.”

New athletic director Andy Fee said that any money made by hosting the NCAA postseason will be put back into the program and Blair Field improvements.

No matter how much LBSU upgrades the bells and whistles, Blair Field won’t reward hubris. That is just its style and I think it’s why I love it so much. It produces the type of baseball that true fans respect and enjoy. The dynamics of the park force baseball teams to be unselfish if they want to be successful.

Even with the new fences moved in a few years ago, the marine layer that hovers over the outfield is still where home runs go to die. Teams can’t rely on big fly balls in the gaps to produce offense. It takes a small-ball approach that features sacrifice hits and aggressive base ruing to be successful. The Dirtbags have shaped the style of their program around those facets.

“Other teams try to come in here and do too much. We know our field,” LBSU senior Daniel Jackson said.

In a way, Blair Field demands your respect while bringing out the best in you like a good friend should. Just ask Tyler Radcliffe.

Radcliffe, a Wilson High School alum, was an All-Moore League pitcher and made 13 appearances as a freshman with LBSU before suffering an ACL injury on his left leg. He was medically redshirted last year and has been trying to make a comeback this year after a second surgery.

With fresh arms at a premium last weekend, Radcliffe answered the call on Sunday night with the season on the line. The right-handed sophomore pitched five iings against Texas, giving up five hits and two runs.

“It felt amazing,” Radcliffe said. “Going thorough the injury and everything it’s kind of an emotional day.”

Radcliffe got a standing ovation from the Blair Field crowd while making his way from the bullpen to the dugout before the game and he had tears in his eyes at the postgame press conference.

“At this point in the season it’s about more than just my scenario,” he said. “It’s about getting some iings in and getting the win. I recalled on some bigger games (pitched at Blair Field while at Wilson) and it made me feel better.”

Radcliffe started the game by striking out six of the first 10 batters he faced. His iings pitched and strikeouts were career highs. Texas continued to take big swings, but didn’t get a hit until the fourth iing.

“I got ahead of a lot of batters,” Radcliffe said. “I was able to use the changeup and I’m sure they haven’t seen a lot of that in their conference that has a lot of hard throwers.”

“Tyler stepped up big time and his change up is the separator,” Buckley said. “I thought he had really good life on the ball. He really pitched. For what he’s been though, to go though, he’s a special kid.”

I’m not going to say Radcliffe wouldn’t have performed well on the road, I’m just saying Blair Field is magic for those who understand it’s joie de vivre. Local fans have seen it for years at every level. The longer a baseball player spends at Blair Field the more the two seem inexorably coected.

I guess the same can be said for sportswriters. I leaed to be a joualist in the Walter Pyramid and I’ve covered incredible games at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but Blair Field is my favorite sports facility in Long Beach because it has its own personality that changes the game it hosts. Not many parks, fields or courts can say that and look this good while they’re at it.

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