This Time Coach Should Be Credited With a Save

In a time when a win-at-all-cost mentality still exists, it’s reassuring that a high school coach would risk losing out on a championship appearance to protect the health of an athlete.

Five days ago, baseball Coach Aaron Moore of Riverside Poly looked out from the dugout at Blair Field in Long Beach knowing it was the perfect time to bring in his closer, Hector Rabago.

Placentia El Dorado, trailing by a run, had the bases loaded with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning in a Southern Section Division I semifinal playoff game. A trip to Angel Stadium was at stake.

Every Poly fan knew if the USC-bound Rabago took the mound, the game would be over. But Moore refused to make the move.

“If it was up to me, I would have been on the mound,” Rabago said.

Why would Moore prevent Rabago from pitching?

Because Rabago complained of soreness in his right shoulder after throwing seven innings of relief three days earlier.

“A kid’s health is too important,” Moore said. “I wasn’t going to risk that. He needed rest.”

Moore left sophomore reliever Kyle Ocampo in the game, and Ocampo got the final out of the 3-2 victory on a ground ball to Rabago at shortstop.

It set the stage for Saturday night’s final against Santa Ana Mater Dei. Poly fell behind early and never recovered in a 9-3 loss to the Monarchs.

It was a disappointing ending for a young Poly team that was seeded No. 1 in the playoffs and started just two seniors. But it was Moore’s decision earlier in the week that revealed plenty about his program. In his ninth year, Moore trusted his instincts to do the right thing.

“Hector always wants to pitch,” he said. “We’re here for the kids. He probably could have thrown, but that’s not the dice I was going to throw. How could I live with myself if something happened?”

In truth, Moore’s stomach was full of knots, wondering if his team could get past El Dorado without Rabago’s arm. If the Bears had lost, fans would have harshly second-guessed his decision. But he proved himself a coach to admire.

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Junior catcher Keith Castillo of Mater Dei sure knows how to perform well in pressure situations. In the semifinals, he had a two-run single. In the final, he had a two-run double, three singles and threw out a runner trying to steal second in helping the Monarchs win their first baseball championship since 1980.

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Spectators attending Saturday’s finals at Angel Stadium were barred from sitting behind home plate because Laguna Beach held its school prom in the Diamond Club. It became a mini-fashion show by the early evening, with several prom dates taking front-row seats in suits and gowns as the Division I game took place.

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Two-time Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen said Friday he had agreed to return as baseball coach at Calabasas, three weeks after announcing he was resigning because of a dispute over issues involving the school’s new baseball field.

Parents, students and community members rallied behind Saberhagen, who raised more than $450,000 for the building of a new diamond. Saberhagen, who completed his first year as coach, said district officials have assured him they will take care of the field issues while allowing him to focus on coaching.

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Our final awards for the 2005 baseball season:

Most improved player: Infielder Shane Carlson of Newhall Hart, who batted .203 as a junior and .485 as a senior.

Most impressive juniors: 1. Shortstop Rabago, Riverside Poly; 2. Pitcher Chris Tillman, Fountain Valley; 3. Pitcher Danny Farris, Los Alamitos; 4. Outfielder Chris Parmelee, Chino Hills; 5. Outfielder Shaun Kort, Woodland Hills El Camino Real; 6. Catcher Hank Conger, Huntington Beach; 7. Pitcher Kyle Thompson, West Hills Chaminade; 8. Shortstop Dan Garcia, La Puente Nogales; 9. Second baseman Corey Jones, Camarillo; 10. Pitcher Adam Wilk, Cypress; 11. Outfielder D’Arby Myers, Westchester; 12. Catcher Castillo, Mater Dei; 13. Shortstop Grant Green, Anaheim Canyon.

Most impressive sophomores: 1. Third baseman Matt Dominguez, Chatsworth; 2. Shortstop Mike Moustakas, Chatsworth; 3. Catcher Robert Stock, Agoura; 4. Third baseman Josh Vitters, Cypress; 5. Catcher Austin Romine, Lake Forest El Toro; 6. Pitcher Ocampo, Riverside Poly; 7. Pitcher Bryan Castro, Riverside Poly; 8. Pitcher Dustin Emmons, Crescenta Valley; 9. Third baseman Andy Megee, Palisades; 10. Outfielder Trevor Bloom, Palmdale.

Top teams for 2006: 1. El Camino Real; 2. Riverside Poly; 3. El Dorado; 4. Chatsworth; 5. Cypress.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com