Jeff Field, Millennium Hall of Fame

In one of the most unforgettable high school baseball performances

of all time in the Newport-Mesa District, former Costa Mesa High standout

Jeff Field came about two feet from power-hitting immortality.

It was a Sea View League game at home against University in 1982.

Field, Mesa’s catcher and a third-year starter under Coach Kirk

Bauermeister, homered in his first at-bat. He went yard again in his

second plate appearance. In his third at-bat, Field drove another pitch

deep and set the school record for home runs in a game.

But Field, 5-foot-11, 175-pounder, wasn’t quite finished on that

memorable day in a big Costa Mesa victory. Field came up to bat once

more, this time with the bases loaded. He got a pitch to handle and

delivered another monster blast. The only question was whether it would

stay fair to give Field four home runs in one game.

The ball hooked foul.

Then, a few pitches later, Field walked to force home a run as the

Mustangs romped. But he’ll never forget the thrill of socking three

homers in one day and coming awfully close to four.

A first-team All-CIF Southern Section 3-A selection as a junior in

1981 and a second-team All-CIF choice in ‘82, Field ended his Costa Mesa

career with a school record 13 home runs, including seven his senior year

and five as a junior. (In 1999, Ruben Mancilla broke the single-season

record with 10 home runs.)

Field, also a basketball point guard, was instrumental in the

Mustangs’ run to the 1981 CIF baseball playoffs. Corona del Mar’s Jeff

Pries and Garden Grove’s Lenny Dykstra were also members of the All-CIF

3-A squad with Field that year.

“Coach Bauermeister was a big influence on me,” Field said. “I had a

lot of respect for him. I thought he did a great job back then, and I

think it’s great that he’s back coaching at Costa Mesa.”

Field earned a partial baseball scholarship to UCI, where he played

for five years (including a redshirt season when he underwent elbow

surgery) and teamed with Brady Anderson, the longtime Baltimore Oriole

outfielder.

“I didn’t play (at UCI) quite as much as I would’ve liked to, but it

was a good experience,” said Field, who once homered against La Verne as

a freshman in 1983.

Field, who graduated from UCI with an economics degree in 1987, works

these days as a systems analyst for CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real

estate and property management firm.

Field played basketball at Costa Mesa with his twin brother, Greg. His

older brother, Mike, was a football standout for the Mustangs and

graduated in 1980.

Field, 36, is a member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

celebrating the millennium. He’s single and lives in Costa Mesa. He has a

10-year-old daughter, Samantha. “She comes down here and I coach her at

the Harbor Area Boys and Girls Club,” he said.