John Stevenson: Time flies for ‘The Czar’

Act like you’ve been there before.

That coaching mantra might be a challenge for Irvine Beckman High’s baseball team to follow after the Patriots for the first time were awarded the top seeding Monday in the Southern Section Division III playoffs.

For Coach John Stevenson and El Segundo High, not so much.

Stevenson has guided his team to the playoffs in 42 of his 50 seasons, winning seven section titles. The winningest baseball coach in California has 1,057 victories, having reached his first section championship game in 1961 -- when the Dodgers were still playing at the Coliseum.

“I don’t think there’s anything he hasn’t seen in baseball,” said Justin McCullough, the Eagles’ junior catcher. “He has a story and a situation for everything.”

That’s not entirely true. Stevenson has never seen a perfect game, though the Eagles came close a few weeks ago before Lawndale got a two-out single in the seventh inning.

Stevenson, 75, has been around so long that a few players from his first teams are collecting retirement benefits. Not that they have any intention of slowing down when it comes to paying tribute to the coach known as “The Czar.”

At El Segundo’s annual alumni game Saturday at Recreation Park, about 40 former players came from as far away as Seattle and Provo, Utah, to celebrate Stevenson’s 50th season. The coach briefly replaced a starting pitcher so that current Eagles third baseman and reliever Jake Booterbaugh could pitch to his father, John, a member of Stevenson’s 1964 team.

Jake grooved a pitch that his 62-year-old father ripped to right field for a single, prompting Stevenson to halt the game momentarily so he could present the elder Booterbaugh with a game ball.

“He’s lost nothing,” John Booterbaugh said of his mentor. “He reminds me of some of the guys and what they did when I was playing.”

Stevenson credits his longevity to his wife of nearly 39 years, Gail, a staff of top-flight assistant coaches, a supportive administration and community, and an expansive roster of current and former players that includes Hall of Famer George Brett.

“It’s an environment that makes you say to yourself, ‘I’m just not done yet,’ ” the coach said.

The Eagles (21-8) open the postseason Thursday at home with a Division IV first-round game against Chino Don Lugo (19-6) and might have to get past top-seeded La Puente Bishop Amat to win their first section title since 2005. The other top-seeded teams are Norco in Division I, Lake Forest El Toro in Division II, San Jacinto in Division V, Bloomington Christian in Division VI and Camarillo Cornerstone Christian in Division VII.

Norco also received the top-seeded position in Division I softball. The other top-seeded teams were Vista Murrieta in Division II, San Bernardino Cajon in Division III, Huntington Beach Ocean View in Division IV, Calvary Murrieta in Division V, Pasadena La Salle in Division VI and Hesperia Christian in Division VII.

As for Stevenson, nothing has been able to slow him down -- not a heart attack in 1991 or a 95% blockage in arteries in both of his legs about 2 1/2 years ago. He gave up hitting infield practice two years ago, but that was mainly to free up time before games.

“I know he’s in better shape today inside than he was in ‘91,” longtime assistant Craig Cousins said of Stevenson, who has dropped more than 30 pounds since then.

Stevenson has devoted much of his energy the last four years to helping his wife battle ovarian cancer, though she insists she wants him to keep coaching as long as he desires. Besides, what else would he do?

“He doesn’t do woodwork or work on cars,” Gail said. “It’s his life. If he had his druthers, he’d die out on the field.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com