This is the final week of the WCAL's 2018 regular season. One game separates the top four teams. For some perspective, in the new millennium, four schools have won or shared the championship 30 times (Serra and St. Francis with 10 apiece and Bellarmine and Mitty with five each). Valley Christian has three. Thirteen of the last 17 crowns have been shared, testament to the WCAL's overall baseball strength over time. None of the three San Francisco schools has won or shared a championship during this period dating from 2001 onward. Since the league was created out of the old CAL 50 years ago, the list of baseball titles (outright or shared) by the eight members looks like this: Serra, 19; St. Francis, 17; Bellarmine, 15; Mitty, 7; Valley Christian (which joined the league 16 years ago), 3; Riordan and Sacred Heart Cathedral, 2 each; St. Ignatius, 1. It should be noted that the WCAL decides its baseball championship via the regular season and post-season playoffs.
WCAL title week
- Thread starter colhenrylives
- Start date
I think I've asked it before but is there a better league in California? If so I would like to know.
Really hard to argue this. Just a brutal league. Hell look at yesterday. VC is a nationally elite level team. SHC is a bottom level WCAL team and the game sounded like an absolute grind.
For what it's worth, as of today, MaxPreps has the following state rankings for the top five WCAL teams: Valley Christian, No.2; Bellarmine, No.7; Serra, No.8; Mitty, No.12; St. Francis, No.18. For the sake of perspective, Bellarmine is 7-5 in league play and still garners that No.7 rating.
A recent analysis by MaxPreps has four California prep leagues ranked in the nation's top ten. The WCAL is not one of them.
I watched Bellarmine vs Franklin earlier this year. Easily a high level JC game or better. The talent was off chart on Bellarmine and they are 7-5 in league! Franklin wasn't exactly a slouch. Lost in extra innings for Boras.
Max preps really? Is that even possible considering WCAL has 5 teams in the top 20? VC already has proved they are a national top level team.
I'm gong with my gut and saying top 1 or 2 in calif.
Max preps really? Is that even possible considering WCAL has 5 teams in the top 20? VC already has proved they are a national top level team.
I'm gong with my gut and saying top 1 or 2 in calif.
In that admittedly arbitrary MaxPreps national rating setup, the four California leagues in the top ten were the Trinity League and three public school leagues, none in the northern half of the state.
The current MaxPreps national top 25 has Valley Christian at No.9. No other NorCal team is ranked.
It seems likely that WCAL teams get down-graded on the statewide level as a season proceeds because they beat up on each other during league play. As noted previously, a good example occurred Saturday when Valley Christian barely beat lowly (but dangerous) SHC, 7-6, in extras.
I am of the cloth of you have to win the Title on the field (ie the team that wins final game). Winning a "title" by finishing league season but losing in playoffs should not qualify.
Also, the league has been PC for over 25 years allowing all teams into the playoffs. It should just be the Top 4 teams make playoffs (1 v 4; 2 v 3, then championship). In early days (through 1980), team that finished first at end of league season, had to be beaten twice in playoffs. I am curious what the numbers would be if you counted it this way. I know Riordan and SH would still have their two. SI would not, as they lost in first round of playoffs. A San Francisco team (even under this very PC version) has not won an outright title WCAL championship since SH in 1978. From 1970 to 1980, a San Francisco team played in the championship game 7 of 10 years. Since then, only S.I. in 2013 (or 2012) made it to a championship game (and lost).
Regardless of its listing, people in the know, know WCAL is a perennial strong league. Shouldnt matter otherwise.
Good luck to all teams going into playoffs.
Also, the league has been PC for over 25 years allowing all teams into the playoffs. It should just be the Top 4 teams make playoffs (1 v 4; 2 v 3, then championship). In early days (through 1980), team that finished first at end of league season, had to be beaten twice in playoffs. I am curious what the numbers would be if you counted it this way. I know Riordan and SH would still have their two. SI would not, as they lost in first round of playoffs. A San Francisco team (even under this very PC version) has not won an outright title WCAL championship since SH in 1978. From 1970 to 1980, a San Francisco team played in the championship game 7 of 10 years. Since then, only S.I. in 2013 (or 2012) made it to a championship game (and lost).
Regardless of its listing, people in the know, know WCAL is a perennial strong league. Shouldnt matter otherwise.
Good luck to all teams going into playoffs.
Trinity league I figured and I'm fine with although I will take Valley Christian over anybody in a series though. Not sure about any other league that comes to mind that would be as good top to bottom as WCAL.
I believe it was Top 10. They used to put Top 20.
Being that said, remember once in CCS, you're facing the other school's top pitcher, so all bets are off. That is why in baseball, more so than any other sport, a public school has a fighting chance in sectionals.
Apologies. I was referring to 49er Cal-Hi Bay Area Sports Focus T.V show that only shows Top 10 (which the five are listed with 4 of them in Top 5).
