On Saturday, July 29, the top-seeded Alameda Anchors won the 2023 Bay Area Collegiate League (BACL) baseball championship at Pat Bail Field. The Anchors were so formidable that the umpires and managers called the game via the BACL “mercy rule” after the top of the fifth inning because the team led the third-seeded Napa Deep Roots 14-0.
The Roots were playing on around an hour’s rest after winning the semifinal playoff game in a come-from-behind victory against the second-seeded Menlo Park Legends at Pat Bail Park. The Roots scored 4 runs in the 8th inning for an 8-6 victory in that game, which started at around noon. Then they took a short break and played the final championship game against the home team. Both the Roots and the Anchors were first-year BACL teams in 2023, so playing in the final showdown was a victory in itself.
Walking into the ballpark before the final game, you could see a line of ballplayers and spectators at the snack bar. A few feet away, at the side of the building, Anchors owner/general manager Tony Cecaci stood at the barbecue, grilling tri-tip, spare ribs, Polish dogs, hot dogs, and hot links. All season long, Cecaci does whatever it takes to make the ballpark a great place to be and keep the team—and their fans—happy and well fed.
“He does everything around here,” Anchors outfielder Carson Vance said while updating the scoreboard from the broadcast booth during the game. Announcer Dan Harrington agreed. “Tony does a great job,” he added. Harrington also announces all Laney College games and guests at other community colleges as well.
The Anchors coaches also are truly dedicated. All of them coach at local high schools and colleges during the school year. Derrick Levingston and Dustin Cheyne coach at Laney College in Oakland, and Marciano Reichel coaches at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward.
“Derrick (Levingston) stepped up and took over as head coach in week two when Dustin Cheyne had to step down with some health issues,” Cecaci said. “Derrick really deserves praise for all his hard work, time, and great leadership. He and the other coaches deserve credit for the team’s success. Even Dustin, who handled the pitching rotations remotely from home while he was recovering. They all did a topnotch job.”
Cecaci certainly knows what goes into being a good coach. He coaches at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland during the school year and also fills in as a coach for the Anchors when needed.
“I drove the van five hours up to Humboldt to play the Crabs, and three hours down to Fresno because none of the other coaches could make it those weeks,” Cecaci said. That Fresno game was “really fun,” Vance said. “We got to play in a minor league park.” Chukchansi Park, home of the Colorado Rockies Single-A minor league team, the Fresno Grizzlies, holds more than 10,000 fans and has all the bells and whistles that professional teams require. Naturally, the players and coaches loved it.
Yet there’s something to be said about the intimacy of Pat Bail Field at the College of Alameda, with just three small metal bleacher stands and some fans seated in their own folding chairs near the dugouts. It’s all part of the hometown charm of a small collegiate summer ball team. Some of these BACL players may become Major League stars in the future, and wouldn’t it be great to tell the story of how you stood in line with them at the snack bar?
Liz Barrett is the Copy Editor of the Alameda Post and writes about our community. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Liz-Barrett.
