City Baseball Playoffs Face Quick Death If Strike Persists

The City Section’s 4-A Division baseball playoffs appear dead unless the strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District is settled by Monday, according to City Section Commissioner Hal Harkness.

Two wild-card games scheduled for today have been canceled and the City’s athletic office likely will announce Monday a decision to scrap the rest of the playoffs because of a boycott by the 4-A coaches.

The Cleveland-El Camino Real and Birmingham-Gardena games scheduled for today were to determine the final two entrants in the 12-team 4-A bracket. Harkness said that those games will not be rescheduled even if the strike is ended by Monday, adding that El Camino Real and Gardena will advance to the first round--if one is played--based on better overall records.

Harkness has ruled out the possibility of rescheduling the playoffs if the strike--and boycott--last past Wednesday, when the 4-A playoffs are supposed to begin. All coaches whose teams have qualified for the 4-A playoffs voted this week to boycott the season until the strike ends. Harkness said it seems unlikely that administrators will field teams without the coaches present.

“It’s my sense from most of the administrators I’ve talked with that nobody wants to get involved with fill-in coaches,” he said. “It looks like the 4-A playoffs are in real jeopardy.”

The Chatsworth administration rejected an appeal by players to field a team even if Coach Bob Lofrano continues to boycott.

“Until I hear different from our supervisors, it is our position that if the coach of record is not present, we will not provide a substitute,” Assistant Principal Roy Kawamoto said Thursday.

The coaches have taken their action despite a recommendation by the Los Angeles City Coaches Assn. that would allow coaches to continue to direct their teams after school while honoring picket lines. Postseason play in other spring sports--such as golf, softball, swimming, track and volleyball--have been unaffected by the strike.

That fact rankles the parents of the Palisades High baseball team, according to Jeff Myrow, president of the school’s athletic booster club. Myrow’s group has persuaded Palisades to field a team despite the absence of Coach Russ Howard, and the group has embarked on a campaign to persuade other 4-A schools to follow suit. So far, only Palisades has committed to play.