Artful Dodger

Palisadian Brad Seto Helped His Dodgertown West Team Win the Men’s Senior Baseball League World Series in October

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Whoever says that baseball is a young man’s game has never met Brad Seto.

Although the Los Angeles Dodgers fell short of their goal of reaching the MLB World Series for the third straight time in October, the longtime Palisadian and his Dodgertown West team restored some pride for the boys in blue several weeks later by capturing the Men’s Senior Baseball League 65-and-older championship in Tempe, Arizona.

Seto’s squad won eight games in a row to end the season, finishing the 2019 campaign with the least number of runs allowed and two tournament shutouts.

In the first game of the playoffs, Seto’s team took on fellow Palisadian Rob Owens’ team, but Owens didn’t play because he had to rush home to evacuate with his wife, Carolyn, from the Palisades Highlands fire.

On October 20, Seto was part of a triple play that helped his team prevail and it went on to win the Cactus Division championship five days later.

“I’ve been playing hardball with the Dodgertown West organization for the past 14 years,” said Seto, who enjoys mountain biking in the Santa Monica Mountains and lives in the El Medio Bluffs with his wife, Marla. “Winning our division at the MSBL World Series was very, very fun. I played mostly infield, either second base, shortstop or third base. Our regular season is year-round, except during this pandemic. The league is comprised of mostly older guys in their 50s or older with a few in their 70s and 80s.”

Dodgertown West opened the  weeklong tournament with a 15-0 shutout of Chicago Mudville 9 on Oct. 19. The next day it beat Raynham Baseball Club 16-5 and the day after that came a 15-5 victory over Paladin. On Oct. 22, West defeated Tucson 11-8 and the next day it blanked Red Deer Legends, 12-0. After a 29-2 rout of the Hollywood Stars and a 10-8 triumph in a rematch with Red Deer Legends, West faced the Puget Sound Mariners in the final at Maryvale Park in Phoenix and won, 11-8.   

Trailing 3-1 in the fifth inning, West exploded for five runs with two outs and Seto reached on an error to start the rally. The Dodgers added runs in the sixth and seventh and three more in the eighth to take an 11-6 lead, then stymied Puget Sound’s last-inning comeback to claim their first championship in 15 years.    

In January, just to prove their World Series win was not a fluke, West won the Desert Classic 65+ title in Palm Springs.

Dodgertown West began simply in 1984 with pick-up games between a small group of guys who had recently attended the Los Angeles Dodgers Adult Baseball Camp. The camaraderie and fellowship of the camp was such that these players wanted to continue it on a regular basis.

It was then and continues to be the mission of DTW “to continue the camaraderie experienced at Dodgertown by playing baseball for the enjoyment of the game, for the love of the game and in the spirit of fair play regardless of a player’s ability and with the safety for all of paramount importance.”

From barely enough guys to form two teams in ‘84, the league has now grown to include over 130 registered players who play on five to six regularly established teams. There are two scheduled seasons a year: Spring (January through June) and Fall (July through December). In addition to regular season games, members participate in various tournaments throughout the year, ranging from the friendly reunion of Dodger fantasy campers to a bit more competitive weekends against other fantasy camp leagues. DTW also participates in MSBL regional and national tournaments. Players must be 30 years of age and older. Previous attendance at an Adult Baseball Camp­—“Fantasy Camp”— is preferred but not required.

Seto, a career endodontist in Santa Monica, passed his athletic genes down to his three children—Brandon, Emily and Kevin—all of whom are now living in Southern California and excelled in sports at Palisades High—and his six grandchildren (ranging from 2-6 years in age), whom he hopes will someday light up the Palisadian-Post sports pages.

His oldest son, Brandon, led the Pali High baseball team (then coached by Russ Howard) to the City Section upper division playoffs as a senior in 1998 and went on to graduate from Emory University. Daughter Emily was a standout in soccer and softball for the Dolphins and went on to Tulane University. Youngest son Kevin starred in soccer and baseball, leading the baseball team (under co-coaches Kelly Loftus and Tom Seyler) with a .460 batting average, 29 hits and 24 runs scored as a senior in 2004 before pursuing his BA in psychology from the University of Redlands.