STRUCK OUT BY BUREAUCRATS.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE

Bret Saberhagen probably thought the worst nightmare he'd ever face on a baseball field was pitching to the heart of the New York Yankees' batting order with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Then he took over the Calabasas High baseball program last year, financing and renovating a new baseball field for the school.

After raising all the money through fundraisers - and even dipping into his own pocket to pay for part of the $500,000 (and rising) project - spending long hours working on the field and navigating through countless rolls of red tape making sure everything was up to code and within the framework of state specifications, Saberhagen discovered what a real nightmare was all about.

He learned the Bronx Bombers have nothing on school districts, inspectors, contractors and million-dollar home owners who don't know the difference between a baseball and a beach ball, and frankly couldn't care less as long as neither land on their well-manicured front lawns.

``A pretty big headache,'' Saberhagen said.

But that was not the worst of it.

No, the worst happened last Friday when Saberhagen and his Coyotes were ordered off the field during practice and told not to return until a handful of safety issues were addressed.

The directive - which came two days after Calabasas played an entire season on the field - was sent down from Las Virgines Unified School district interim superintendent Donald Zimring, who wanted Saberhagen to fix the problems immediately.

``All of a sudden, these guys show up and tell us to get off the field,'' Calabasas senior Max Score said. ``It was like, `Right now?' We just played a whole year on it.''

An upset Saberhagen resigned on the spot, fed up with all the bureaucracy and politics he encountered over the past year and upset over the disrespectful manner in which the district strong-armed him off the field.

Saberhagen knew about the last few details. The dugouts needed to be approved by the Division of State Architect's (DSA) inspectors, a flag pole needed to be removed or moved and the netting behind home plate and in the outfields needed to be redone. He intended to take care of them in the near future. But that wasn't good enough for the district.

``It just seemed like every time I turned around throughout this entire process, it was like I was being told to jump through another hoop,'' Saberhagen said. ``It was just one thing after another, and to have it culminate with someone coming up to me before practice and ordering me off the field. You know what? Enough is enough.''

Well, maybe not. Although Saberhagen hasn't spoken to Zimring or Calabasas principal Jay Guidetti since last Friday, all three seem open to a compromise. Saberhagen said this week he'd like to return to the Calabasas dugout under the right circumstances, and Zimring and Guidetti want him back, too.

``I never asked him to resign in the first place,'' Zimring said. ``It's obvious how much he cares about the team and the program. Without a doubt, I would be open to him coming back.''

So do a group of upset parents who feel Saberhagen's efforts have gone unappreciated.

``Here's a guy who took this entire thing on himself, and didn't ask the district for one penny. And this is how they thank him?'' said Bill Schultz, who has put three children through Calabasas. ``How about asking him to rework his practice schedule so the work could get done? Anything but showing up one day during a workout and telling him to get off the field he built. You just don't do that.''

It's said no good deed goes unpunished.

Bret Saberhagen can attest to that. All the former Cleveland of Reseda standout and two-time Major League Baseball Cy Young award winner wanted to do was coach the Calabasas baseball team - including older son Drew, who graduated last year, and younger son Dalton in six years - and build a state-of-the-art facility for the Coyotes.

It sounded so easy. Raise the money. Hire a contractor. Build the field. Play ball.

``Unfortunately, things don't work that easy in the world of public education,'' said Guidetti, who hired Saberhagen last year. ``I told him that very exact thing the day he came to me with his plans for the new field. I said `Bret, you're going to learn more about politics and bureaucracy then you ever thought existed.' At the time, he didn't believe me. Three months later, he told me he wouldn't want my job for all the money in the world.''

Zimring agrees.

``I just don't think Bret was fully aware of what goes into a (school) project like this, in which state codes and regulations have to be met,'' Zimring said. ``I know, because I do this for a living. There are so many issues you have to deal with in terms of safety concerns and state inspectors and making sure everything is in compliance. In that sense, I can understand his frustrations. But that's what you deal with in these situations.''

From the outset, things started off badly. A group of homeowners lodged complaints to the district about everything from the extra traffic the renovated field would create to where exactly they would walk their dogs now that the old junior-varsity field was being given a face lift.

The district listened.

``Our kids come first,'' Zimring said. ``But we also want to be good neighbors.''

After that, it was one hurdle after another, and everybody seemed to have some sort of say on what was going on with the new field.

``Coaches, parents, the district, the coaches of the other sports, homeowners who live near the school,'' Guidetti said. ``It seemed like a thousand people had something to say about it.''

Every time Saberhagen and his project team added something new, it seemed to come under the scrutiny of the DSA and school-district inspectors.

And disputes with the district and local homeowners never seemed to end.

``One time we put this pole up, but as it turned out it went up without an inspector there watching.'' Saberhagen said. ``So we had to take the pole down and put it right back up while they were there looking on. That's just one example of the sort of red tape we had to deal with.''

With the season just a few weeks away and the field not completely up to code, Zimring and the district approved some temporary fixes so Calabasas could use the field this season - which the Coyotes did.

``But the understanding was that the work be completed as soon as the season ended,'' Zimring said.

And that was Friday, when the district told Saberhagen and his team to get off the field.

``I just think, with everything we've tried to do and all the work we put into this thing, it could have been handled a whole lot better than it was,'' Saberhagen said.

He's right. Here's hoping Zimring sees that and picks up the phone and calls Saberhagen.

Saberhagen deserves it.

And so do the baseball players at Calabasas High.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Former Calabasas baseball coach Bret Saberhagen was happy to help upgrade the school's baseball field. That is, until the red tape.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer