Alumni Return to Chatsworth's Baseball Diamond

There stood Matt Cassel taking batting practice and commenting on others’ swings. There stood Bryan Petersen admiring his uniform No. 17 hanging in left field.

Those two were the known quantities who came out to Chatsworth High’s annual alumni game Saturday. But if you couldn’t describe their physical appearance, you might not have found them (Cassel, in fact, left before the game started).

Wander around the dugout and you could just as easily run into Josh Rawitch (Class of ’94), who is better known as the primary Dodgers spokesman. Or you could find David Pesuti (Class of ’67), the oldest alum to appear (but not play). On this day, they are as famous as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback or the Florida Marlins outfielder because they all share a bond: they played baseball at Chatsworth.

“The most popular? All these guys are popular,” Cassel (Class of 2000) said after taking his cuts. “It’s a great group of guys, whether you’re young or old.”

“It’s exciting to see their names in lights, but it’s even more exciting to see how humble they’ve remained,” JV coach Stu Sellz said. “They’re just one of the guys. They didn’t change from the days of being just one of the boys. They still respect us. They still call us coach. They still respect the game and they realize it takes a lot of hard work.”

Alumni games are times where a school celebrates its past and welcomes back those who – in their own way, large or small – made the past worth celebrating.

On Saturday, the big celebration centered around the retiring of Petersen’s uniform, an honor bestowed because he is the first in coach Tom Meusborn’s 22 years to reach the major leagues. But it also is the time for playing “Remember the time?’ as in “Remember the time Smitty hit that ball that far?”

“We didn’t have dugouts,” Pesuti said. “It was just a plain field. It looked like a baseball diamond at one of the parks.”

Why Petersen Came Back

When Meusborn told Petersen that he was the first to reach the majors, Petersen (Class of ’04) said he was shocked. “I knew a lot of great players have come through here, and will come through here. I know I won’t be the only one (to reach The Show).”

Standing six feet, wearing a gray Chatsworth baseball pullover, Florida Marlins pants and sporting a Bass Pro Shops hat, Petersen surveyed the place where it all began and declared it one’s duty to play in alumni games.

“This is where the foundation for my playing the game the right way started,” he said. I come back, first because I want to; and second, to pay respect to the program that brought [me] up. … This is a huge part of what made me a baseball player.

“You come back because you should come back.”

Why Others Came Back

Rawitch, during whose single year of varsity ball future Dodger pitcher Randy Wolf and El Camino Real beat the Chancellors for the City title, returns out of loyalty to his coach. He said Meusborn had and continues to have a major influence on those who come through the program.

Petersen echoed Rawitch, recalling how every Monday meant study hall and other days were mandatory weightlifting days.

“It forms you not only as a baseball player but as a person,” Petersen said. “I like to think of Meusy as a life coach.”

Some, such as Coach Sellz (Class of ’96) don’t stay away long. He’s in his 11^th year of coaching, meaning he was around when Cassel and Petersen roamed the halls.

Then there is Cassel now a resident of the Kansas City area. He had two reasons, First, his football jersey No. 10 was retired in a private on-campus ceremony on Friday.

His second reason: “The weather.”

“It was negative-13 with the wind chill when I left,” he said. Then he looked up into the blue sky and said, “You can actually go outside.”