The Oaks enjoyed as much success on the field in 2004 as they ever have. All four teams in the Oakland program, which includes a 15-and-under, 16-and-under and two 18-and-under teams, won multiple tournament titles.

The season finale for Oaks baseball came last weekend when the 18-and-under Blue team -- the Oaks squad which plays at the highest level of competition -- fell just short of the Connie Mack World Series with a loss at the regional tournament.

But as good a showing as the Oaks had on the field, the best news the team received came just a week into the season. That was when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected Cory Dunlap, the former Oaks first baseman now at Contra Costa College, in the third round of the major league draft.

Dunlap's selection was a cause for celebration among the Oaks coaches and administrators, whose priority is not wins but player development.

"Our job is to make our players good enough to play at the next level," asserted Oaks chairman Alan Silver.

The message was not lost on the current Oaks players, who delight in watching the exploits of former Oaks like Dunlap and DeAndre Miller, a Berkeley High graduate who excelled for Fresno State University last season.

"It gives you hope, seeing those guys that played in the Oaks program moving on," explained pitcher Dan Goldberg, a Blue team member who has played in the Oaks program four straight years. "It's pretty cool to see."

The Oaks program is not unique in that it serves as a stepping stone to big-time college baseball or even the major leagues -- several Bay Area summer programs have a successful track record in that department -- but there is an element that sets it apart.

In addition to baseball, education and community service are integral components of the Oaks program. All Oaks players must take part in an educational project, the subject of which varies from year-to-year, during the summer season.

"We try to do a good job of giving them high-end baseball, and (we) balance it out with community service and the educational project so it's not just baseball," Blue team manager Cliff Coleman said.

This year's project revolved around the presidential campaign and culminated in a public debate of election-year issues between 16 Oaks players at the team's banquet.

The focus on education may be unusual for a summer program, but it is a point of pride for everyone involved with the Oaks.

"We're building men before we're building baseball players," explained Silver. "I know what we're trying to accomplish is correct. As long as I'm in charge of this program, the (educational project) will be a part of it."