SBVC Baseball will be celebrating Opening Day of the 2012 season, today, February 6th at 2:00 pm with a special guest, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Third Base coach Dino Ebel.

Ebel will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and mingling with the assembled crowd afterwards. SBVC Baseball will be wrapping up the third and final game of the Dave Buttles Memorial College of the Desert Tournament versus Fullerton. SBVC split the first two games of the tournament, with a loss Friday versus Cypress and a win Saturday over Oxnard, both games were played on the campus of College of the Desert.

SBVC first played Fullerton in 1927, and has since put together a 24-46-1 record versus the Hornets, including a 13-16-1 record in San Bernardino, the last time SBVC and Fullerton met up was in 2000.

San Bernardino and the Angels share more of a connection than just Ebel, the Inland Empire 66ers play their home games at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino and are the California League “Single A” affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Ebel, from Barstow High School, was a standout player for SBVC and head coach Stan Sanchez from 1984 through 1986, the team won Southern Division titles each of those years, and was an All-Inland Valleys Conference selection in 1986 as an infielder. In 1985, the SBVC Baseball team went to the state tournament, and in 1986, Ebel tied a then school record for triples hit in a game with two.

Ebel will be visiting with SBVC Baseball just before he has to head out to the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, the Cactus League Spring Training home of the Angels. He wears number “12” as the 3rd base coach and will probably be giving his shoulder quite a workout over the spring and through the Major League Baseball season, guiding the likes of Albert Pujols, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter, and Hank Conger around third for another Angels run.

According to The Blue and Grey: San Bernardino Valley College Sports 1926-2011 by Roger Schmidt and Harry Carson Frye, after SBVC, Ebel played at Florida Southern University and was the NCAA DII champions in 1988. Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1986 he chose to go to Florida Southern and in 1988 signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In rookie ball with the Gulf Coast Dodgers, he was named Player of the Year 1988 and All-Star team shortstop, played high “A” ball for Vero Beach Dodgers 1989-91. Eventually moving out to the west coast to be a coach in the Dodgers organization, first with the Bakersfield Dodgers; Texas League (AA) 1991: San Antonio Missions; PCL (AAA) 1991: Albuquerque Dukes; coach: San Bernardino Spirit 1995-96; manager (Dodger affiliates): San Bernardino Stampede 1997, 2000; Great Falls 1998; Yakima 1999; Vero Beach 2001; Jacksonville (AA) 2002-04; 2002: instructor, Osaka Buffaloes (Japan), Sinon Bulls (Taiwan); manager, Angels affiliate: Salt Lake City Stingers PCL (AAA) 2005; 2006-10: 3b coach, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

A special thanks goes out to retired SBVC professor and SBVC Athletics historian Roger Schmidt and Harry Carson Frye for the assistance with the historical context for this release.