Pitching In to Promote His Passion : Baseball: Bill Singer, former Angel and Dodger, is giving back to the game by organizing and operating youth leagues.

In a small office located on the edge of Newport Beach, Bill Singer runs an industrial and commercial real estate company. It’s his livelihood, not his passion.

For the past seven years, Singer has devoted a great deal of time to giving kids an opportunity to play his former profession--baseball. That’s his passion.

Singer, a former Angel and Dodger who pitched in the major leagues for 11 full seasons, has been the builder of leagues for players of all ages. He is commissioner of Orange County’s first Connie Mack League, which is for players 18 and under.

The league, which played host to the season-ending state tournament last weekend, was so successful this summer that officials are considering expanding from six teams to eight next season. And a great deal of that success is credited to Singer.

“Bill was very organized (this season),” said Mater Dei High School Coach Bob Ickes, who was co-coach of the Orange County Giants. “He put together a board of governors and arranged the schedules. He got individuals to do specific jobs and made sure everything ran smoothly.”

Singer became involved with the Connie Mack League in December after attending a meeting of prospective coaches and officials. There, he met Randy Vanderhook, co-coach of the Orange County Cardinals who was trying to organize the league.

Vanderhook coached the Cardinals from 1978-89 in a league in Long Beach. He also helped operate that league, which he felt was a conflict of interest.

Besides the Cardinals, the Orange County Connie Mack League includes the Orange County Giants, who played a free-lance schedule in 1989. The other teams in the league--San Clemente Dodgers, Irvine Tigers, Cerritos Birds and Orange County Angels--were formed this year. The teams were made up mostly of county high school players.

At the coaches’ meeting, Vanderhook was approached by Singer, who inquired about the league.

“Bill listened, but didn’t say anything,” Vanderhook said. “I didn’t think much about it. A couple nights later, he called me and asked if we had found anybody to run the league.”

When Singer expressed an interest in becoming commissioner, Vanderhook jumped at the offer.

“I felt we needed someone who didn’t have any interest in any of the teams,” Vanderhook said. “I had asked Bill if he had wanted to manage and he said that he preferred to build a league and watch it grow.”

And Singer, who pitched six full seasons for the Dodgers and three for the Angels, proved to be instrumental in the league’s growth. He organized a board of directors comprised of people with experience in youth leagues.

Singer also contacted every county high school coach in an effort to get players interested. He also attended nearly every game.

“Bill was amazing,” said La Quinta High School Coach Dave Demarest, co-coach of the Cardinals. “There were three games on Saturdays, all at different fields, and Bill would see part of every one. I was amazed how he got involved. He was the perfect person for the job.”

For the most part, Singer said, the league had few problems in its first season.

The most serious incident was when the coach of the San Clemente team quit with two games left in the season. Singer filled in as coach. Next season, he said the plans are to combine the San Clemente and Irvine teams.

“That was probably the worst thing that happened,” Singer said. “Really, everything went pretty smoothly. Everybody did complain that they didn’t have enough pitching. Ever heard that one before?”

This was not the first time Singer has been involved in youth baseball.

In 1983, he organized the Newport Beach Little League, which now operates on 10 fields and includes more than 1,000 kids. He also had a hand in forming a PONY League in Newport Beach and a Winter League for 8- to 18-year-olds.

This won’t be the last time Singer helps establish a league, if he has anything to say about it.

He already is planning to form a college league in Southern California, similar to the summer Cape Cod League. Singer hopes to get major league teams interested in supporting the new league.

For his efforts, Singer receives only the pleasure of promoting baseball.

“There are a lot of kids who want to learn the game,” Singer said. “I’m just glad I can help in some way.”

Singer was 118-127 during his 11-year career, which also included time with the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. The highlight of his career was on July 20, 1970, when he pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1973, Singer was traded to the Angels and was 20-14 that season. It was his second 20-victory season; he went 20-12 for the Dodgers in 1969.

Singer pitched two more seasons for the Angels, but injuries and inconsistency limited his appearances. He was 7-4 in 1974 and 7-15 in 1975.

After retiring from baseball in 1977, Singer became involved in commercial real estate. He formed Bill Singer & Associates six years ago.

But his love remains baseball, which he tries to promote constantly.

“Baseball was really good to me, and I guess you can say I’m giving back to the game,” Singer said. “But I really just enjoy doing it. It’s fun to see kids given a chance to learn.”