The Malibu Pony baseball A team, called the Malibu Sharks, fought a close battle against the Newbury Park Royals to win the Conejo Valley Interleague Championship for the first time in recent years.
The championship game was a pitcher’s duel between the Sharks’ Kennesaw Steinberg and the Royals’ lead pitcher. The game was tied, 1-1, through six innings, and both teams brought in relief pitchers at the top of the seventh. The Royals shut down the Sharks at the top of the seventh and battled through the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded until Malibu’s Alec Morrison struck out the Royals’ top batter to take the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Luke Mickens led the Sharks’ attack with a double to right field and they then scored two runs to take the lead. The Royals quickly retaliated with one run at the bottom of the eighth, but the Sharks fought to hold them off and win the championship, 3-2.
“It was a nail biter,” Head Coach Carlos Yniguez said.
Malibu Pony Baseball is made up of the Sharks A team as well as two B teams — the Kiwanis and the Lions. The league is made up of 13- and 14-year-old players.
Yniguez just finished his first year overseeing the Pony program, but is no stranger to management, as he came to Malibu with over 20 years of experience. This year, he introduced a new philosophy: to teach players what high school coaches look for.
“It worked out very well,” Yniguez said. “First and foremost, I said fun is the number one priority. Fun, teaching fundamental skills and winning is number three. I’m all about teaching the right way.”
Most players enter the Pony program when they turn 13 after playing with Malibu Little League.
“It’s a big difference because now there’s so much more baseball-related stuff than they teach in little league,” Yniguez said. “There’s a lot to learn when you come into the Pony program. We focus on a lot of basic fundamentals of the game.”
Pony differs from Little League because Pony teams play against other nearby cities instead of local Malibu teams. This year, all three teams traveled to Palm Desert to play in the Big League Dreams tournament the weekend before the Sharks’ league championship game. The Sharks fought through the entire tournament before losing in the championship round.
“We played six games in three days, and the very next day, we came back and played the [league] championship game,” Yniguez said. “The boys were tired, but we came back and fought and won. I did that because I wanted the boys to have one bonding experience before they all went off to high school. It was great that everybody went.”
Aside from individual team practices once per week, all three teams come together every Sunday for a blended practice. Yniguez said these practices are beneficial because they allow the more advanced players to help teach fundamentals to their younger teammates.
“I always tell them baseball is very humbling. I tell them, if you see somebody make an error, pat them on the back and say ‘you’ll get the next one.’ Always have that winning, positive attitude because it’s contagious.”
This year’s players also had the guidance of Malibu High School senior Matthew Raffiti, who coached the Kiwanis team and helped out at blended practices.
“It was a learning experience for him, but he was very mature,” Yniguez said. “He clowned around with the boys, but when he needed to be stern and serious he was. It was a very balanced style of coaching.”
After a successful first year with Malibu Pony, Yniguez has big goals for the program’s future. “I want to start a tradition of respect for everyone — respect for umpires, respect for fans, respect for fellow teammates and respect for opponents,” he said. “My biggest goal is to prepare them for the next level of baseball. If they come back and sign up again next year, then I know I’ve done my job.”