Newbury Oaks Pulls Plug on Season

Newbury Oaks, which won the American Legion baseball World Series in 1992, has folded because of lack of players and financial support, Coach Joel Silverstein said.

Newbury Oaks, which includes players from Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park high schools, played its final games Sunday.

The team began a doubleheader against Santa Barbara with 10 players and finished with nine because one left for work, Silverstein said.

After the games, Silverstein tried to get commitments from players for games this week. Realizing that only eight players might have been available for some games, he decided to call it quits.

“It’s real disappointing for me and three or four of the kids,” Silverstein said.

“They made a big commitment and they gave up a lot of stuff. But to the others, it’s just something to do in the summer with all the other stuff.”

Another problem was money, Silverstein said. Because Newbury Oaks is not sponsored by an American Legion post, all funds come from the players and coaches. Silverstein said the cost of uniforms, equipment, umpires and insurance for a season is about $2,500.

He said he asked for $150 from each of the 15 players who originally comprised the team, but only nine paid.

“I put several hundred dollars of my own money in,” Silverstein said, “but with the lack of commitment we had, I wasn’t going to put any more of my money in.”

District 16 Commissioner Joe Grodell said Newbury Oaks (10-5) will forfeit its remaining nine games. Newbury Oaks was formed in 1991 from graduated players at Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks highs. The Newbury Park and Conejo Valley Legion teams use only players returning to high school. Newbury Oaks won the 1992 American Legion World Series in Fargo, N.D.