Costa Mesa Baseball seeks alumni for upcoming events

The Costa Mesa High baseball program will have two special events next week, celebrating Dan Quisenberry and raising money for the team with the help of an alumni game.

Costa Mesa Baseball will have its Hall of Fame dinner Thursday night at the Costa Mesa Community Center, where the Mustangs will honor the late Quisenberry and induct him into its Hall of Fame.

The cost for the dinner is $20.

The Costa Mesa baseball alumni game will take place at TeWinkle Park on Saturday at 6 p.m. Last year’s game featured about 30 players and they played odd-year class against even-year class.

There will be a taco dinner after the game. Alumni can pay $35 to play in the game, and they will receive a T-shirt and dinner. Admission is accepted at the game after 5 p.m. or alumni interested can email Clark Chapman at clark5chapman@hotmail.com.

There will also be a softball tournament Saturday at 9 a.m., $200 per team, that is open to Costa Mesa supporters to help raise money for the program.

Rich Fielder, who played baseball with Quisenberry at Costa Mesa and Orange Coast College, will be at the dinner to accept his friend’s honor and share stories of the past.

Quisenberry, a.k.a. “Quiz,” came out of Costa Mesa and Orange Coast to become the most heralded Newport-Mesa baseball player of all time.

An undrafted free agent, who begged a Kansas City Royals scout to sign him, he debuted with the Royals in 1979 and went on to record 244 saves, a 2.76 earned-run average, and a 56-46 record. He also collected five American League Fireman of the Year awards.

Using his submarine delivery, which prompted him to quip “I found a delivery in my flaw,” he pitched in two World Series, including a 1985 seven-game triumph over the Cardinals.

He was inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame in 1998, soon after being diagnosed with brain cancer. His battle with the disease ended Sept. 30, 1999 at his home in Kansas. He was 45.

— From staff reports