Announcement

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Dirtbags History

Posted by Jeff Proctor on Jan 26 2009 at 09:45AM PST in Spring 2010

The Long Beach State 49ers Baseball team is the college baseball program that represents California State University, Long Beach. Unlike all other Long Beach State sports teams, since 1989 the baseball team has unofficially gone by the name The Dirtbags.
Long Beach State has competed in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference (BWC, formerly the PCAA) since 1970. Before becoming a founding member of the BWC, LBSU participated in the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) from 1957-1969, and before that spent three years as an independent team.
The Long Beach State baseball team gained national prominence in 1989, with the hiring of Dave Snow as head coach. Since then The Dirtbags have been one of the strongest teams on the West Coast, being consistently ranked in the national top 25 and appearing in 17 of the last 20 NCAA tournaments (through 2008).
The Dirtbags currently play their home games at Blair Field, a semi-professional baseball facility located less than 2 miles from campus and operated by the city of Long Beach.
Although like all other LBSU sports teams the baseball team is officially known as the 49ers, players and fans alike generally prefer the more colloquial name the “Dirtbags." The team bears the name with pride, despite the fact that it may seem disparaging at first. The term Dirtbag is in fact distinct from pejorative demonyms (such as Limey and Hoosier) that have later been adopted later as symbols of pride. The term was instead coined as a sort of ironic badge of honor, referring to the team’s scrappy playing style and success against higher profile programs. 1
The name Dirtbag first appeared in 1989, the first year under new head coach Dave Snow. After a successful 4-year run at Loyola Marymount (where he led the Lions to 2 WCC titles and their first ever CWS appearance), Snow arrived at The Beach and found himself inheriting a program that had compiled a horrific 14-45 record the year before, along with a roster consisting almost entirely of new players. What’s more, Snow’s team was forced to play without the benefit a true home field (instead splitting games between Long Beach City College, Cerritos College, and Blair Field).
But the lack of a field didn’t seem to deter the young 49ers. In fact, infield coach Dave Malpass routinely took his players to a local (all-dirt) Pony League field for practices rather than have them play on the on-campus practice field. When the infielders returned to the main practice field, their uniforms caked with dirt, the other coaches would often tease Malpass about his group of “Dirtbags.” Soon, however, the Dirtbags would show that they were not to be laughed at.
Long Beach State exploded onto the college baseball scene in 1989. Rebounding from their disappointing 14-45 season just one year before, the reborn Dirtbags completed their incredible turnaround by posting a 50-15 overall record (a school record for wins that still stands to this day) and winning their first conference title in two decades. In their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Dirtbags breezed through their Regional and reached the College World Series, another school first.
The pivotal 1989 season set the stage for future Dirtbags teams. In the 20 years since then, Long Beach State has maintained the high level of play introduced by Dave Snow and the first Dirtbags team, while establishing itself as one of the premier teams on the West Coast. The Dirtbag name continues to be worn as a badge of honor, by players old and new.2
Dirtbags in the Major Leagues include Evan Longoria, Jason Giambi, Bobby Crosby, Steve Trachsel, Jered Weaver and Troy Tulowitzki

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