2024 MSBL/MABL National Hall of Fame Recipient Jefrey Brown, SoCal MSBL
By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications
61-year-old Jef Brown is at the peak of his earning and baseball-playing careers, as a business owner performing financial planning, Insurance work, and assembling retirement programs and annuities for his clients and as the League President of the SoCal MSBL, based in Orange County, California.
“I began playing in the MSBL in 1995 and still manage the OC Dodgers in our 50+ Division,” said Brown. “I play second base and outfield in the league and then manage to take our Dodgers team to Arizona for the World Series, where we tackle to 45-over division. This year, however, I will be going to the World Series as a player for the first time in more than 15 years. I will be playing with Team Victory in the 60+ National Division.”
The SoCal MSBL is steeped in tradition and has continually been managed by MSBL Hall of Famers. MSBL Founder and President Steve Sigler has decided to keep that trend alive by inducting Jef into the 2024 class of the MSBL National Hall of Fame.
“In all honesty, I’m really taken aback by receiving this award. I never expected to be in the Hall of Fame. I am so fortunate to have been selected and I’m thrilled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame! It means the world to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Nothing has been more exciting than building the league, creating new interest, and adding new teams from competing leagues each year. I’ve loved the experience, and it has been a great joy for me, because I love this game and our league!
Steve Sigler is an amazing man who came up with an idea that has not only benefited many but changed people’s lives. Playing a game that we all learned as kids, and hoped to play in the big leagues, although many of us didn’t make it that far, is a dream come true for many. When I found out about adult baseball, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. 
I thought my baseball career was over at 22, but to find MSBL 10 years later, and to start playing again, and competing has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! Thank you!”
Jef is married to “my lovely wife Sam” and celebrates four wonderful children and two beautiful grandchildren. Regarding baseball roots, Jef didn’t play traditional high school baseball.
“I didn’t play baseball in high school. I was a football player for the Edison Chargers in Huntington Beach. I broke my collarbone my senior year in the third game of the season and came back in time to play in the playoffs, but the injury prevented me from continuing any other sports.
I tried out in college and was cut because Orange County had so many talented players at that time. When I tried out, there were eight players who were either all-league or all-conference, so trying out for second base ended my baseball career until 1995 when I found out about MSBL.
Over the 29 years I’ve played in the league, many of the players I competed against in college have played in our league and we’ve created some great rivalries.”
As previously mentioned, Jef possesses a lengthy listing of MSBL national tournament appearances.
“I have won the MSBL World Series twice as a player in 2012 and 2013 with the Sun Devils, and again in 2020 as a Manager of the OC Dodgers 45+. Probably my greatest experience was in 2022 when my OC Dodgers played in the Las Vegas Kickoff Classic. We brought a small team that year due to some of our regular players being injured. We had a roster of only 14.
During the tournament, two other players were injured leaving us with 12 players. We ended up playing seven games in three days, went undefeated, and won the Championship.
The real highlight for our team, however, was playing against the Santa Ana Senators (i.e. Team Victory) in the Semi-Final. We had never beaten this team in tournament play and we faced a tough task in getting past them to the final. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead with Dave Morrow on the mound, but we chipped away at the lead and went on to win that game. It was an amazing tournament for our team and for me as a manager!”
What are some of the biggest highlights of the past 29 years?
“I think my biggest highlight is that our OC Dodgers team (and its predecessor) has won the League Championship in the 25+, and 45+ divisions a total of 12 times over 29 years, and we’ve been in the semi-finals another 10 times, so for 22 of our 29 years, we’ve been a perennial contender or Champion!
All in all, it has been a pretty fantastic 30 years of competitive baseball for me, and I’ve enjoyed playing, managing, and leading our SoCal MSBL League back to prominence over the past eight years as the League President.”
Final thoughts?
There are a few individuals that I’d like to thank for helping me. Dennis Swartout was a very important part of helping me in my management and in eventually taking on the task of running the league and I can’t thank him enough.
Additionally, some individuals like Kevin King who has been my co-manager for 16 years, and also Robb Munson who has been with me since the beginning, as a pitcher, manager (tournaments), and confidant. He’s been a great friend, supporter, and in some ways, a mentor.
Last, but not least, I have to thank Nathan Jack for being not only an outstanding player but an amazing man. We couldn’t have won the Championships we’ve won without him. He is such an amazing pitcher, but an even better Father and husband. He works tirelessly for his family and always puts them first, and when he plays, he puts his heart and soul into it!
Finally, I’ve played in other leagues and tournaments a few times and I can tell you for certain that MSBL is the classiest and best adult baseball organization out there! Steve does an amazing job at putting the tournaments together, and in helping us with the SoCal league.
I consider Steve Sigler a friend and he’s helped me tremendously throughout my years with SoCal MSBL. I’m proud to have contributed in some small way, to keeping SoCal MSBL going, and in building something that can be passed down to the next generation of baseball players. I hope to leave a legacy in SoCal that others will follow and build on so that in the future players and managers will have a place to play the game we all love!