Beach City Baseball Academy Recognizes Positive Attitude as the Sixth Essential Tool of a Good Ball Player.

By Brian Simon

A new scholarship program aims to reward a deserving young baseball player for displaying more than just mad skills on the field. The winner of the aptly named $5,000 Sixth Tool Scholarship must also exemplify the best of the best in the all-important area of attitude. A five-tool player showcases speed, fielding prowess, a powerful throwing arm and the ability to hit for both average and power. Such individuals are few and far between, with perhaps only a handful who can truly claim that status in all of Major League Baseball. Possessing that sixth tool is even rarer, according to Richard Murad, who developed the scholarship and is the owner of the El Segundo-based Beach Cities Baseball Academy (BCBA). “Scouts always look for the sixth tool when they compare people of equal talent,” he said. “That is the kind of person we want to reward every year with this scholarship. We hope it becomes a well-known opportunity for kids and that we can reward more than one person per year as we continue to grow.”

Those who wish to apply for the scholarship must be in high school, live within 10 miles of BCBA’s Grand Avenue facility, and send a letter to the academy by June 1 explaining their grasp of the sixth tool and how it reflects their conduct on and off the field. The packet must also include a recommendation from the applicant’s high school coach. Murad, along with partner Nate Trosky (who focuses on showcasing talented high school players to get them into Division 1 schools), will go over the applicants, choose five finalists to interview in person and then select the winner.

Murad purchased what was then known as Total Baseball in 2010, changed the name, invested $1.5 million in improvements and transformed it from batting cages to a full-fledged baseball school that offers individualized training, after-school clinics, camps and travel team programs for kids eight to 18. “We also offer free scholarships to El Segundo residents who can’t afford to play in our programs,” said Murad, who is additionally the general manager of Murad—the longstanding skincare company on Rosecrans—as well as the treasurer of the philanthropic Murad Family Foundation. Murad’s cousin Hilarie oversees the foundation activities, sifting through many grant proposals to determine which ones merit funding. Among the group’s ongoing programs is a free series of one-on-one, 30-minute batting sessions at BCBA offered to any child with special needs in the community. Many of the approximately 30 kids who participate in this program live in El Segundo.

The Murad Family Foundation also sponsors the El Segundo Ed Foundation/Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences Program that introduces ninth grade students at El Segundo High to the medical pathway and continues the program to graduation to prepare them to successfully complete baccalaureate and advanced medical programs.

Six years after its founding in 1989 as a small business in Westchester by Dr. Howard Murad to supplement his dermatologic practice, the skincare company moved to Continental Park and has since grown to offer nearly 200 products sold in over 45 countries worldwide. Richard Murad arrived that same year (1995) from New York to join the family business as its general counsel—he earned a law degree from Fordham University and later an MBA from UCLA. He is married with three children, ages 21, 19 and 14, with the youngest a travel team player at the academy.

Now 450 employees strong, Murad the firm just signed a 12-year lease to build its new 45,000-square foot corporate offices in the space next to P.F. Chang’s. It will maintain a 6,000-square foot spa at Continental Park. “This is a big expansion for the company,” said Murad. “We love El Segundo—our heart and soul are here and we’ve renewed our commitment to the community with this lease.”

Richard Murad’s commitment to and connection with El Segundo deepened last year when he purchased a plot of land across the street from BCBA to build an official Little League infield complete with bases spaced 60 feet apart. The $400,000 field that opened last June also features murals of old-time baseball scenes to create a nostalgic effect. “The City was very helpful when we wanted to buy the land and facilitated the building of it. Everyone has been very supportive,” Murad said. “Also, anyone in the community 12 years old and under can use it free of charge when we [the academy] aren’t using it.”

While admitting that the academy’s travel team schedule can sometimes be at odds with other local baseball programs, Murad said BCBA gives generously to the El Segundo Little League and also sponsors Babe Ruth. “Seven players from the 13-year-old Babe Ruth all-star team that won the World Series last year came from a team we started when they were nine years old,” he said. “We are very proud of that.” Murad added that the academy is also sponsoring the upcoming second annual Tokyo Tournament the last weekend of March. The proceedings will take place at Brett Field and the Bobby Sox softball field and feature 10 local area teams as well as the visiting Japanese squad that won the Little League World Series in Williamsport. “Many local families will host these kids [from Japan]—it’s a really fun event and a wonderful cultural exchange for the community,” said Murad.

With two very different jobs that both require his full-time attention, Murad noted that he manages to juggle the two by getting up very early. “I usually do Murad work starting at 5 a.m. and leave my office there sometime after lunch,” he reported. “I then go to Beach Cities Baseball Academy and have a desk there. But I have to admit, I kind of like the action a little more at the academy…”