15 best high school baseball teams in California history

How does one boil down a list of all-time great high school baseball teams from California? First, check to see if there are concussion symptoms to even take on such a task.

We gave it a good shot, picking 15 teams from over the decades. It's purely subjective, of course, because who's to say a team from one era wouldn't beat one from another? This list was specific to high school efforts only, not what players ended up doing in college or at the Major League level.

1. Fresno, 1958 (25-1)
How good? The lone loss was to the Fresno State freshman team, a club Fresno High beat three other times in addition to beating the freshman teams from Cal and Stanford. The ace for coach Ollie Bidwell was Dick Ellsworth, who went 15-0. Fresno for decades held the state record for shutouts in a season at 15, according to the Cal-Hi Sports record book. The 15 shutouts are listed on the National Federated High School list as second all-time in national prep history. No. 2 arm Lynn Rube went 7-1, and the third man was Jim Maloney, a star shortstop who went on to win 20 games years later for the Cincinnati Reds. Pat Corrales was the catcher, and he went on to play in the majors and manage Texas, Philadelphia and Cleveland. Fresno's 1,405 all-time victories entering this week are second all-time in national prep history to the 1,429 for Dobyns-Bennett High in Tennessee.

2. El Segundo, 1971 (32-2)
Of all the great teams that state all-time winningest coach John Stevenson produced, this was the most star-studded. And it was his best. The ace was Scott McGregor, who went 18-1 and had nine shutouts and was 51-6 for his career. The other star player wasn't too bad, either — Hall of Famer George Brett. In the CIF Southern Section finals, El Segundo beat a 32-1 Lompoc team 5-2 behind McGregor. Stevenson died in 2010, on the eve of his 51st season, of a heart attack. He was 76. He coached 42 playoff teams and won a state-record 1,059 games, which are also the most for any coach all-time west of the Rockies.

3. Chatsworth, 2004 (35-0)
Not only did the Chancellors of the San Fernando Valley compile the best single-season record in state history in finishing No. 1 in national rankings, there's strong argument for this being the best team in state history — or even perhaps national prep history — along with Fresno 1958 and El Segundo 1971. Chatsworth finished national No. 1 the previous season, making for quite a dynasty. Versatile stars included Jason Dominguez and Mike Moustakas, who became first-round draft picks, one of only seven schools nationally to achieve such a feat, and both landed in the Major Leagues. Dominguez went 13-0 and Willie Cabrera set a state record for hits in a season.

4. Clovis, 1998 (33-2)
In the storied history of Fresno-area baseball in the Central Section, there's plenty of argument as this as perhaps the Valley's finest bunch. The Cougars repeated as the No. 1 team in the country, thanks to a .373 team average, headed by star outfielder Cody Nowlin's .417 average. Chris Patrick, son of coach James Patrick, batted .463. Mike Bumatay went 15-0 as the ace and Steve Frazier was 10-0.

5. El Cerrito, 1983 (27-1)
The Gauchos maximized their speed under coach Larry Quirico, swiping bases and daring pitchers and catchers to keep track. Outfielder Terry Brown and six teammates signed professional contracts, the star being James Mitchell, who went 10-0 on the mound and hit .425. Brian Nichols had 36 RBIs and was a closer for the CIF North Coast Section 3A champions.

6. Edgewood (West Covina), 1977 (29-1)
The ace of all aces was Mike Pill, who went 14-0 as a senior after going 14-0 as a junior. Coach Karl Major guided a team that won the CIF Southern Section 3A title with a staff that included Rick Aguilera and Ken Angulo.

7. Lompoc, 1970 (27-1)
The Braves won their final 27 games and took down emerging powerhouse El Segundo 8-5 in the CIF Southern Section 3A finals. Ace Roy Thomas became a first-round pick and played in the Major Leagues. Roy Howell was also a first-round pick, in 1972, and he, too, reached the Majors.

8. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 2000 (30-3)
The Broncos were coached by legend in Sam Blalock, who has called this his finest team in his 38-plus seasons with the program. The Broncos beat Vista 1-0 in the CIF San Diego Section Division I finals to finish No. 1 in the country. Rancho Bernardo hit 75 homers, and Matt Wheatland and Scott Heard went on to become first-round picks. The sophomore star was Cole Hamels, who would later enjoy World Series fame.

9. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 2003 (32-1)
In an extremely competitive field for state No. 1 honors, the Mavericks finished on top and as high as No. 2 nationally in some final rankings. Catcher Scott Clement and infielder Joey Burke led the charge. La Costa Canyon beat highly regarded Rancho Bernardo in the CIF San Diego Section Division I finals under coach Justin Machado, who has won numerous Coach of the Year honors over the years.

10. Bullard (Fresno), 1980 (29-2)
The winningest team in the state for the 1980s was Bullard, coached by Mike Noakes, who had several teams finish No. 1 in the country. Noakes has called this perhaps his greatest group. Richie Gaynor was the ace, going 16-1. Randy Asadoor anchored the infield. Someone should round up an alumni game for all these great Fresno-area teams over the decades.

11. Ontario, 1991 (26-0)
The stars included eventual Major League player Mike Sweeney. Mike Hernadez was the ace, going 10-0, winning his last game in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Ryan Mitchell was the other top pitcher, going 7-0.

12. Redwood (Larkspur), 1977 (33-3)
The Giants of the greater Bay Area had more success than the A's or Giants that season and finished No. 1 in one national ranking. One loss was 2-1 to the Taiwan natinonal team, one that had Little League World Series success. Infielder Buddy Biancalana was a leader, and he went on to the Major Leagues. Greg Zunino led the way for the team to score 356 runs, a NorCal record according to Cal-Hi Sports, in addition to 357 hits. The aces were Steve Travers and David Hoffmire.

13. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), 1961 (32-2)
Still regarded as the best team in San Francisco regional history, the Irish were coached by the famed Dick Murray, who went 300-65 and stepped down following this season. Ace Frank Bertaina struck out 16 to beat Balboa 2-0 in the playoffs in front of more than 6,000 at still-new Candlestick Park. He went 10-0 and later reached the Major Leagues.

14. McClatchy (Sacramento), 1951 (22-0-1)
The Lions are widely regarded as the finest team in Sacramento-area history, rivaled only by the famed 1962 Bishop Armstrong team of 1962, the Grant and Cordova teams of the 1980s and the Elk Grove and Jesuit teams of the 2000s. McClatchy, under coach Cliff Perry, was led by Earl Rose, who batted .521, and Peter Stathos (.512). Dick Traversi was the anchor in the infield. The blemish was a tie with Christian Brothers, and the unbeaten streak stretched to 40 games, still one of the best in state history, according to Cal-Hi Sports.

15. Bishop Armstrong (Sacramento), 1962 (22-2)
Best known for coaching dominant, star-studded football teams at Bishop Armstrong (later changed to Christian Brothers), Dick Sperbeck said some of his greatest joy was with this team. The Falcons were ranked No. 1 in the state and suffered one loss (6-4) to the Stanford freshman team and ace Jim Lonborg. Ace Mike Green headed a record six first-team Sacramento Bee All-Metro players.

The Sacramento Bee profiles Tino Luigi of McClatchy High School, who hit a regional-record three consecutive home runs after surviving cancer

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com/preps.