La Verne Head Coach Scott Winterburn offers encouragement to pitcher Javi Iniguez, with infield players gathering around to assess the current game situation, during a meeting at the mound in the midst of a tense game against Claremont McKenna College. The coach frequents the mound during games to make sure his players are on track for a win. / photo by Mitchell Aleman

by Daniel Hargis
photography by Mitchell Aleman

He is a man who appreciates the little things–the core values that make up a champion, a successful person, a team. He loves what is closest to him in life: his family, his work. He gives credit to the mentors in his life for guiding him in the right direction. He expects the best out of the athletes he coaches, to turn them into “Leos.”

This man is Scott Winterburn, the head baseball coach at the University of La Verne. In his 12th season at the University, he has enjoyed success through collective values that shape the athletes he coaches and their willingness to win. Most importantly, he cares about those who surround him. In return, his players have brought him four Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships. Other recognition includes multiple legacy La Verne baseball players receiving SCIAC Player of the Year, Golden Glove and All-American honors. For himself, he garnered the SCIAC Coach of the Year Award in 2005.

Scott claims that his philosophies are still evolving, but one thing has always been steadfast: He wants to create a Leo. To Scott, being a Leo means something. It is a process that gets each athlete to understand, commit and buy into what the program requires. “The thing that I value most is that I want our program to reflect life as closely as possible.” In order to do this, Scott believes that relationships have to be made with the athletes, not just any kind though, but close relationships, the kind that take time to create—caring relationships to the point where he knows which players have girlfriends, what they like to do in their spare time, and what they want to do after graduation. Once these relationships have been established, those involved must work hard on them, and “only then do lessons become valuable,” Scott says.

The little things make a huge difference to this fundamental man. Saying “please,” “thank you” and “excuse me” shows him class; it sets people apart in his eyes. He sets out to improve the men who come into his program. His is a very intimate relationship, yet there is distance at the same time. The same applies to Scott’s children. “I’m not their buddy, but I’m there in every way,” he says with a sense of ease in his voice. “I treat them like my son and daughter. They have plenty of buddies. I’m there to tell them the truth. I own the truth.”

Something well-known about Scott is that he values the process as much as the results. “He is probably one of the hardest working people I know,” says Paul Alvarez, professor of Movement and Sports Science, adding, “both what you see and what a lot of people don’t see.”

On this day, Scott sits in his office with assistant coach Daniel Soriano. Their computers burn bright in front of them as they search for potential student-athletes. They ponder over these baseball candidates. It is evident that each athlete is carefully evaluated before he even has a chance at becoming a Leo. “Burn,” as Scott is referred to by those who know him, wants to ensure that athletes will fit into his program, just another step that will perpetuate future program success. “The first thing I try to find out is, ‘Can they fit here?’ That’s the most important thing,” Scott says. “The backbone of this program is people who love being here.”

Experience is key

Scott wants everyone to learn appropriate lessons from key situations, to react appropriately to the event, then to move forward with new understanding. This is an important mindset for him. If a player struggles in practice, it excites him to see that player come to the game improved because he put in thought after practice. This technique comes from one of his mentors, Rex Huigens, former Movement and Sports Science Department chair. The idea is to allow players, having failed somehow, to go home with the thought of failure in the back of their mind. After analyzing the failure and finding the personal corrective solution, players will succeed the next time. “The athlete has to start to understand that the opportunity is right here, right now,” Scott says. “Every experience impacts us. We’re not sure how it will impact us until it’s over, but over time we can look back and see how that impact was.” Experiences shape the paths of people’s lives, and this is a core baseball belief for dedicated Coach Winterburn.

Scott knew that he loved baseball. He claims it was the only reason he attended college, but he did not know that it would become his life’s passion until he was a junior at Texas A&M University. While majoring in agricultural economics, a flash of inspiration came to him while undertaking a pedestrian assignment. He remembers thinking, “Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?” His father encouraged him to do something he liked and to work hard at it, and that day Scott realized that thing was coaching baseball. “It was very clear to me, ‘Hey I want to coach,’” Scott says. “I felt like that’s what I was supposed to do.” The people who have influenced Scott have been involved in baseball. His first baseball memories are of him and his father playing catch in their front yard and then his playing games in the street with friends. Scott says that his father was a great mentor in life and sports. Aside from his father, Scott cites influential coaches: George Dusic, his little league coach; John Meiers, his coach at Arcadia High School; Skip Claprood, his coach at Citrus College; and Tony Barbon, the coach at Azusa Pacific University, with whom Scott worked at the beginning of his coaching career. “It’s the mentors I had in life,” he says. “I am the product of people who influenced me. I don’t claim to have invented anything.”

Between the lines

Scott takes an alternative look at everything in life. What one takes from a situation may be different from how he interprets it. He sits in his office with its walls adorned with photos of family and baseball players, certificates from past All-American or All-Region athletes, baseball books and personal themed baseball memorabilia. Scott says that it is the goal of an athlete to try his best to win. However, he does not condone winning at all costs. In the dugout during La Verne baseball games, he blends in like a chameleon with the rest of the team. In his No. 14 La Verne uniform, he cheers on the batters and commends the fielders for nice plays. One only realizes that he is the coach when he is unsatisfied, when he sternly gives corrective advice to the team between innings or expresses rule book-anchored discontent toward an umpire. When he gets fired up, it creates a serious atmosphere that makes everything seem more meaningful. When that happens, the players react constructively, another testament to his creation of a Leo.

“Read the defense. I could talk all day about it; it’s no secret,” Scott says to junior first baseman Michael Stewart during a crucial conference game against Cal Lutheran on April 7. At the same time, Scott knows what matters at the end of the day. Hitting coach Scott Marcus says at the start of his senior year, he was slapped with his parents’ divorce and the death of his older brother. “No matter how I performed on the field, it didn’t affect how he treated me off of it. He has a good ability to know what’s important,” the All-American player says. “I will always have a certain level of respect for him.”

Burn expects the best from his players and deservedly so, because he first puts forth his best. When his players leave his program, they are ready for what the world has to offer; they are Leos. His baseball philosophies reflect the way he looks at life. And his life is a treasure chest of the things he values most.

It is Friday, April 27. A dog pile is taking place on the mound immediately following the Whittier strikeout that brought the 2012 SCIAC title to Scott Winterburn. He pauses for a quick moment to soak in the secret pride that wells within. Then, clapping in appreciation, he quickly jogs out to join his new champions.

His lesson delivered, Coach Scott Winterburn, returns to the Leopard dugout after coaching third base. Not content to quietly sit in the dugout, the coach is intensely involved in the game, teaching in the dugout, giving hand signals for runners on base or at bat, and calling timeouts to directly talk to his players. / photo by Mitchell Aleman

No home, no matter

Ben Hines Field no longer exists, leaving the Leopard baseball team players homeless. But their hard work and determination came to fruition on April 27 when they captured their 20th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. Practicing at nearby Damien High School and at the Southern California Baseball-Softball Academy was no hindrance. In the fall, the team met about the upcoming season and their lack of a home, but never again spoke about it. Not having a field would never be an excuse. Hitting Coach Scott Marcus said that graduate assistant Jon-Michael Hattabaugh held batting practice sessions, some as late as 10 p.m. Practices ran until 4:30 or 5 p.m., but players regularly stayed after.

Usually only five or six pitchers are used during the season, but this season the Leos used 10 or 11. Pitching Coach Gabe Miranda worked with what Head Coach Scott Winterburn calls a “specialty staff.” “That’s the job Gabe Miranda has done; he’s done a stellar pitching coach job this season,” Winterburn says. Miranda and the staff held meetings to raise issues and address them up front. “They were struggling with all of the nuances of the game,” Miranda says. Some pitchers would pitch a majority of the game, some a few innings, and some only one out. But that was what the staff knew it needed to do to succeed. “No one whined or cried about it; it’s just the way the pitching staff was this year,” Miranda says.

Each season, the senior class takes on a big role. There was no captain, but the seniors led the team. “This senior class did a great job,” Winterburn says. “They had a lot of responsibility, and they got it all done.” They organized and ran offseason practices. Miranda, a school teacher, relied on the senior pitchers to run their practices until he arrived.

The team had something that cannot be practiced or implemented by coaches: camaraderie. Marcus recalls days when players discussed where they would eat after practice. “They hang out all the time,” he says. “They’re brothers, and there’s something to be said about that.”

Head Coach Scott Winterburn takes to the front of the dugout to instruct his Leopard baseball players on how to turn the game’s momentum in their favor. / photo by Mitchell Aleman

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Left to right: Coaches Owen Wright, Ben Hines and Scott Winterburn stand together for the future of La Verne baseball. / photo by Christopher Guzman

by Grady Lee Thomas
photography by Christopher Guzman

The marquee baseball program at the University of La Verne has seen its share of success, winning two national championships, 19 conference championships and, as the La Verne Athletic Department website says, “has arguably the most tradition of all Leopard sports.” Yet, this spring marked the team’s final season at Ben Hines Field, as the historic field was demolished to construct a parking lot to accommodate the commuter needs of a growing University.

A temporary field of play at the Fairplex is set for practices next year, but plans are still in flux for a promised new facility on scrubland the University owns south of Arrow Highway, about one-half mile from the main campus. The loss of the historic field may have its repercussions on team spirit, including possible recruiting challenges in attracting quality student-athletes. “This era of La Verne baseball is different from previous years,” head baseball coach Scott Winterburn says. “I’m extremely saddened by the loss of the field here. La Verne needs to break ground on a new facility. Doing so shows a commitment to providing a quality baseball experience for the students who decide to come play here at La Verne.”

The on-campus field loss will be felt by other programs. During previous falls, the field doubled as an NCAA men’s and women’s soccer field. Its expansive grass outfield was in play for many Movement and Sports Science Department activity classes. The field acreage loss represents accelerating change for campus sports. In the past 10 years, both the women’s softball team and the women’s tennis program lost their historic playing areas and were moved off campus. The men’s tennis program was terminated as was the men’s volleyball program. At present, the track is unusable because of delamination damage to its running surface. Additionally, the old gym, prized for intramural contests, was razed. The disappearance of the on-campus Ben Hines Field is a cultural issue as well. “The most important thing we can do is provide an opportunity for our kids to practice and not have it interfere with their academics,” Winterburn says. “We cannot be too far away from campus. Our kids have classes before and after practice. Without a [permanent] field to practice and play games, it is going to be awfully difficult to out-recruit our competition.”

Ben Hines builds a legacy

The field named after Ben Hines is literally one he built—with his hands and his reputation. Stepping foot into Hines’ La Verne home is like walking into the Coopers-town West Coast annex. The only thing the Hall of Fame has on Ben’s collection is size. The coach has a seven foot tall glass display case containing a who’s who of baseball players, 54 of whom are members of the pro baseball Hall of Fame. Says Winterburn, “For many years, our program experienced its golden years under Ben Hines. I grew up in the area, and as a kid I knew who Ben Hines was. It was well known in those days that if you were a guy who wanted to go pro and stay in the Southern California area, you went to La Verne. Hine’s legacy will most certainly be carried on to the program’s new location. He is known as one of the best hitting coaches the game has seen.” Ben Hines’ humble beginnings at La Verne forged him into a championship caliber coach. His college teams won the NAIA College World Series and NCAA College World Series; as a pro hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he won the Major League Baseball World Series in 1988.

After graduating from La Verne College in 1958, Hines (married to wife Wanda,‘63), played three years in the minor leagues before returning to La Verne. With a hearty laugh, he remembers, “My first year at La Verne was terrible. I had been playing for the Baltimore Orioles single-A affiliate club, the Stockton Ports, when I received a call from La Verne College asking whether I was interested in being the head baseball coach. Our baseball field was in no condition to host practices, let alone baseball games. We didn’t have dugouts or a fence set up marking homeruns. Needless to say, we went 3-25 my first year, 19-16 my second season and after that we were always pretty close to 40-20 overall. One of the best things about me is that I always had a good idea of what a player could do.” With his budding success, Hines renovated the field and seemingly invented the adage, “If you build it, they will come.”

Frank Johnson, then La Verne mayor, was his good friend; in 1968, the two coordinated fundraising toward the construction of a new baseball facility on Second Street. La Verne College President Leland Newcomer funded the backstop construction with its memorable high beam poles. The season opened with a new field spring of 1969. Ben and Frank later organized a fund to build the bleachers and install lights so the club could play night games. “Frank Johnson, Milan Rupel and I installed the field’s lights. We worked on the wiring while the poles were on the ground; we lifted the giant light poles up, then Milan went up on a cherry picker and finished the wiring. After that, we had lights,” Hines says.

This was 1973. La Verne already had the heady reputation as being a direct link to the pros. Many talented players enrolled at La Verne for visibility. Transferring to La Verne was not only a way to play right away but also meant possibly catching the attention of a major league scout. Ben says he sent more than 60 players from La Verne to the big leagues. Many made an impact with their big league club, including All-Star relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry, outfielder Willie Norwood and infielder Nick Leyva, who is currently the third base coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates major league team.

Hines opted to leave La Verne following the 1980 season to join the Arizona State University coaching staff. “ASU’s coach Jim Brock had been after me for a long time to work with him [as a batting coach], so after my last two children [Bruce (‘80) and Kristi (‘80)] graduated from La Verne, I decided it was time to move on.” After two seasons at ASU, which harvested a national championship, two Pac-10 championships and personal accolades for spurring team records in every batting category, Hines joined the big leagues as the minor league coordinator of instruction for the California Angels. One year later, he accepted the batting coach position for the Seattle Mariners major league team. With one season in the books, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Hines to a contract that would not only bring him back to Southern California but see him rise to the pinnacle of baseball in helping win the World Series. Hines coached in the Dodgers organization as a batting and first base coach from 1985-’93, before spending one season with the Houston Astros. Today, he is still in the game as a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Owen Wright’s imprint

Owen Wright coached La Verne’s baseball team for 15 years, from 1983-98, winning the NCAA Division III Championship in 1995. Prior, he coached soccer and baseball for 21 years at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Dwight Hanawalt, department head of health, physical education and recreation, first invited him in 1979, but Wright says it took four years “to pick up my roots and move my family away from Pennsylvania.” The coach recalls “fantastic memories from La Verne. If you were a Leo then, you will never forget those days. The memories of what was accomplished before us and during my tenure are precious. I would hope that the Board of Trustees would recognize the problem and do whatever it takes to get some plan developed. Hearing the news about Ben Hines Field and the state of the baseball program bothers me greatly because I still bleed green and orange.”

Regarding his coaching style: “I was not the players’ good friend, but my office door was always open to them, and a lot of on and off-field problems came to me on a regular basis. I became a good listener. I still follow the team as closely as I can and still feel I am a part of the team; La Verne is in my heart.” He cites another giving individual: Milan Rupel, who termed himself “the oldest bat boy in America.” From 1972 until his death in 1997, Rupel was a steadfast supporter of La Verne baseball. “He travelled with me any time the team took a road trip. He loved baseball and loved La Verne. We were like brothers. He was with us when we won the national championship, and we flew back with the trophies.”

Two student-led events, one a rally, the second a petition garnering more than 300 signatures, called for the saving of Ben Hines Field April 2011. Says Hines, “I don’t think the administrators care that they are taking away student involvement with soccer and baseball. I understand parking problems, but there are better solutions than tearing down the baseball field. People have tried to get me involved with finding a new place to play, but it is hard for me because I have so much of my life invested into the old ballpark on Second Street. I could not tell you how many hours my players and coaches spent picking up rocks and fixing up our field. My family would even come down with me on Sundays to clean up the field.”

“When I took over the program in 2000, I knew what La Verne baseball was all about,” says Winterburn. “I spoke to the coaches who served at La Verne before me: Bobby Lee, Owen Wright and Ben Hines. I asked them numerous questions and got their insight in terms of building a program here. At that moment I realized how much La Verne had impacted them. Even though they had left La Verne, they still love La Verne.”

Jacob Ludvik, center, celebrates victory with his teammates after knocking in the ninth inning 5-4 game-winning run against Occidental College in the Leopards’ final game at Ben Hines Field. / photo by Christopher Guzman

A famous Ben Hines coaching moment

One of professional baseball’s more memorable moments came in game one of the 1988 World Series when the Los Angeles Dodgers, down 4-3, sent injured pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson to the plate. Ben Hines, Dodgers batting coach, set up the historical moment in what many believe gave the Dodgers the momentum to win the World Series that season. “Kirk had tore up his right knee sliding into second base in the National League Championship Series against the Mets,” Hines says. “During game one of the World Series, he was out. Vin Scully even kept saying, ‘You will not see Kirk Gibson at all in the game,’ but what we all knew was no one could tell Kirk anything. He would decide what he would do.”

“About the seventh inning, Kirk told me he thought he had one at-bat in him, so we went to the batting cages in the clubhouse to work some soft toss, and I knew things were bad because with every swing, Kirk grimaced in pain. I went to talk to Tommy Lasorda and informed him Kirk had one solid at bat in him. Then Tommy asked whether I would have Kirk ready to go by the 9th inning. We were down by a score of 4-3 with a runner on first base and two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning when Tommy decided to put Kirk in the game as a pinch hitter. Kirk limped his way to the plate and, in no time, fell behind in the count, 0-2. After some good plate discipline, Kirk was able to work his way back to a full count. Our scouting reports for the Oakland A’s showed us that when their pitcher Dennis Eckersley was in a full count, he would throw a back-door slider for the punch-out. Well, Gibby remembered the scouting tips, but from the moment the ball left Eckersley’s hand, Kirk was out in front. But the barrel of his bat was back, and he caught it all and hit it hard to right field—hard enough to leave the park. That gave us the walk off victory and is without a doubt my most memorable time in the big leagues,” Ben says. “It was an unbelievable battle. Later on when Gibby retired, he said he never learned to hit until he got to L.A. and worked with our coaching staff. We spent many hours working to refine his swing and technique. It was great to see his hard work pay off.”

Focusing on the future of baseball at the University of La Verne, coach Scott Winterburn, during the late innings against Occidental College, takes a final look at the field he has called home for 11 seasons. Since the start of La Verne baseball in the 1910s, players have seasonly contested on this field. Until 1969, home plate was oriented in the opposite direction, facing out toward First and B streets. / photo by Christopher Guzman

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