“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is the beloved anthem sung during the seventh-inning stretch at baseball games. Fans “root, root, root for the home team,” and now, for Long Beach, that means the Long Beach Coast.
“Long Beach is the perfect place for a Pioneer League team,” said Paul Freedman, one of the founders. “To our knowledge, Long Beach is the largest city in the country that doesn't have its own baseball team, and it's a community with a deep sense of pride.”
After helping successfully launch the Oakland Ballers, he and his partners looked for another city with a strong baseball connection, and Long Beach was at the top of their list. The city already has a history of professional baseball at Blair Field, and now the Coast will extend that tradition.
The Coast will play in the Pioneer Baseball League, an independent circuit that includes teams in Oakland and Idaho Falls. The league has an 88-year history, and Freedman noted how it serves as Major League Baseball’s rules innovation partner.
“When they want to test a rule, they ask us to try it first, and then, by the time it comes into Major League baseball, it’s already been worked out — how it’s going to work, how the fans are going to receive it, how you even do it,” he said.
This reputation not only benefits fans but also draws in talented players.
“It’s a young league — it’s tough, it’s grindy and very competitive — so I think the fans and everyone involved, whoever wants to come see a game, is going to be pleasantly surprised with the talent and the body of work on the field,” said Jacob Jablonski, 27, a utility player who plays second base and the outfield.
He has been around the game since he was 3, following in the footsteps of his father, who played for the Texas Rangers. He previously played with Idaho Falls, and now sees Long Beach as an opportunity to play closer to home and in front of everyone who has supported him.
Left-handed pitcher Brett Wozniak, 24, shares a similar story. A Cypress High School graduate who played at High Point University and spent last season with Yuba-Sutter in the Pioneer League, he sees pitching for the Coast as a chance for family and friends to watch him play professionally.
“Now you’ve got people coming and [saying], ‘Hey, can I get tickets? Can I get tickets?’ — people you haven’t talked to in forever,” Wozniak said. “...they’re excited just as much as we are.”
Jerome Williams, a former first-round pick by the San Francisco Giants who also pitched for the Los Angeles Angels and briefly played for the Long Beach Armada, is on the Coast’s coaching staff as pitching coach. His major league and independent ball experience helps him connect with players.
“I only live by three rules when I coach,” Williams said. “Be on time, give me 100% effort, and respect me, [and] I respect you. If you can do those three things, we have no problems because it’s life lessons too, not just in baseball.”
Beyond the field, the team’s impact on the community is equally meaningful.
“A successful baseball team is also a lifestyle brand,” Freedman said. “People choose what to wear, particularly hats, which is what baseball teams are known for…and being able to rock LBC is pretty special.”
Wozniak has seen that in small moments leading up to the first game.
“I was in Costco the other day wearing my Long Beach stuff, and this little grandma on her wheeler thing goes, ‘I have that shirt,’” he said. “She was so excited. That’s the beauty of being in the community and wearing that stuff out.”
With the season starting May 19 and its inaugural home opener on June 2, it won’t be long before Coast gear pops up all over the city.
“We want to become immersed and synonymous with the culture here in Long Beach and the city pride,” said Claire Duvendeck, head of marketing. “That we start to see teal and gray and black all around town.”
This season, the Coast will host 51 home games, including theme and heritage nights designed to bring people together. The team keeps tickets affordable, with promotions like $2 Tuesdays making it easy for everyone to experience a ballgame.
The team is also incorporating their alter ego, the Regulators, on select nights — tapping into minor league culture, where alternative brands help teams tell local stories and try different looks.
“Alt identities are really an opportunity for a bigger celebration of where the team is from or who it's representing,” Duvendeck said.
Long Beach hip-hop artist Warren G is one of the Coast’s owners, and his “Regulators” legacy underpins the club’s alter ego.
“By the baseball team being called that name, they’re Regulators, you know,” he said. “And what that is, that we comin’ to win championship. We coming to play ball. We taking over. We want to win. We want to be champions.”
Beyond on-field goals, Warren G wants games to feel like events with performances and postgame shows, similar to what he and Snoop Dogg once did after a Cincinnati Reds game. Fans can watch the Coast play, then stay for live music without leaving the ballpark.
The experience at Blair Field is meant to be about more than baseball. The team brings together people from all walks of life, reflecting the diverse community and cultures that call Long Beach home.
“It’s going to be like a family reunion and a block party around a baseball field,” Freedman said. “And it’ll be reflected in smiles on kids’ faces and people saying, 'That was so much fun. I want to come back.'”
“We coming to play ball. We taking over. We not trying to lose. We want to win.” - Warren G