2006 LMU
BASEBALL
Home of the
LIONS The 37-foot tall Mikos Blue Monster is home to one of only a handfull of manual scoreboards in all of baseball, bringing old-time charm to Page Stadium. Now in its 24th season as the home of Lion baseball, George C. Page Stadium has established itself as a tough place for opponents. With the Mikos Blue Monster and the addition of Pride Park, Page Stadium continues to stake its claim as one of college baseball's most unique ballparks. Thanks to a gift from Paul Mikos ‘66, a wall containing a manual scoreboard was installed in left field, complete with out of town scores reminiscent of some of Major League Baseball's classic ballparks. T h e Mikos Blue Monster is a replica to Boston's Fenway Park's Green Monster. The Mikos Blue Monster stands 130-feet wide and 37-feet tall. Within the wall is one of only a handful of manual score boards in all of baseball. The board itself isn't small, 28 L M U
standing 18-feet tall and 46-feet wide. Complete with the LMU line score and other score updates, the scoreboard combines some old-time baseball charm with today's technology. The scoreboard has electronic balls, strikes and outs lights, along with electronic at-bat and hit/error identification. Every other component is tallied using 2-foot square aluminum score cards slipped in behind the scoreboard manually. Giving Page Stadium additional character is a five-foot indent connecting the Blue Monster with the existing outfield fencing, similar to the odd outfield shapes of the classic Fenway Park in Boston and Minute Maid Park in Houston. Since 1997, when Frank Cruz was hired as head coach of the Lions' baseball program, LMU has estab-
lished an 147-105 record at Page, a winning percentage of 58 percent. The Lions' have posted a 392-261-2 record (.600) overall in the park's 23 seasons. Some of the best years have come in the five conference titles the Lions have won while calling Page Stadium home. The first Page Stadium conference title came in 1986, when the Lions posted a 24-8 record at home. The best record came in 1988, when LMU was 30-4 at home (88 percent). In the years the Lions have won conference crowns, they are 168-55 at Page (75 percent). Since going to a Championship tournament format in 1999, four of the WCCChampionships have been played at Page Stadium with the Lions winning two conference crowns over Pepperdine.