COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (NJCAA.org) - The 2009 mid-summer baseball classic will have plenty of NJCAA flavor as 12 former baseball players, including six former NJCAA All-Americans, will take part this year's MLB All-Star Game festivities in St. Louis, Mo., July 12-14. Six former NJCAA baseball players highlight the National League team.
Albert Pujols (MCC - Maple Woods, Mo.) of the Cardinals and Raul Ibanez (Miami Dade College, Fla.) of Phillies will be starting for the National League while Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson (Spartanburg Methodist College, S.C.), Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe (Navarro College, Texas), Astros outfielder Hunter Pence (Texarkana College, Texas) and Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Franklin (Seminole State College, Okla.) are reserves for the NL squad.Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay (North Idaho College) and White Sox hurler Mark Buehrle (Jefferson College, Mo.) were both named to the American League All-Star team. Bay is listed as a starter for the AL team. Four other former NJCAA baseball players will take part in the All-Star Futures Game on July 12, which is an annual exhibition game between a team of top minor league prospects from the United States and a team of prospects from other parts of the World.
Former Chipola College, Fla., players Tyler Flowers (C) and Rene Tosoni (OF) will take part in the game as well as former Brevard Community College, Fla., standout Mat Lotas (P) and former Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Ariz., star Eric Young, Jr. (2B). Flowers was a 2006 NJCAA second-team All-American.Eight former NJCAA Players in the Mid-Summer Classic
Arguably the best player in baseball, Pujols will be making his eighth All-Star Game appearance and will also be participating in the Home Run Derby on July 13. He is the reigning NL MVP and currently leads the NL in home runs (31), RBIs (82), runs (67) and slugging percentage (.725). Pujols played one season at MCC - Maple Woods in 1999 and earned NJCAA third-team All-American honors after posting a .461 batting average. He was selected in 13th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Cardinals and earned NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2001. Ibanez currently ranks second in the NL in slugging percentage (.656) while also ranking 13th in batting average (.312). He is tied for fourth in home runs (22), tied for seventh in RBIs (59) and tied for 10th in runs (53). He played two seasons for Miami-Dade College where he earned All-Conference honors. Ibanez was taken in the 36th round of the 1992 draft by the Mariners.
Arguably the best player in baseball, Pujols will be making his eighth All-Star Game appearance and will also be participating in the Home Run Derby on July 13. He is the reigning NL MVP and currently leads the NL in home runs (31), RBIs (82), runs (67) and slugging percentage (.725). Pujols played one season at MCC - Maple Woods in 1999 and earned NJCAA third-team All-American honors after posting a .461 batting average. He was selected in 13th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Cardinals and earned NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2001. Ibanez currently ranks second in the NL in slugging percentage (.656) while also ranking 13th in batting average (.312). He is tied for fourth in home runs (22), tied for seventh in RBIs (59) and tied for 10th in runs (53). He played two seasons for Miami-Dade College where he earned All-Conference honors. Ibanez was taken in the 36th round of the 1992 draft by the Mariners.
Hudson is in his first season with the Dodgers and is currently hitting .285 with 43 RBIs. He is considered one of the best second basemen in the league and boasts the second-highest fielding percentage in the NL at his position (.989). He was selected in the 43rd round by the Blue Jays in the 1997 draft but did not sign until after posting NJCAA honorable mention All-American honors in 1998 with Spartanburg Methodist College.
Hawpe is posting career best marks in his fifth season with the Rockies. He currently ranks sixth in the National League in batting average (.327) and slugging percentage (.584) and his 57 RBIs also ranks 11th. Hawpe played his freshman season at Navarro College in 1998 and then helped lead Louisiana State University to the 2000 NCAA College World Series title. He was selected by the Rockies in the 11th round of the 2000 MLB Draft. In just his third season in the big leagues, Pence has emerged as one of the best young players in the game. He currently ranks 20th in the NL with a .303 batting clip and ranks 22nd with a .485 slugging percentage. Pence finished third in the voting for the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year Award behind Ryan Braun of the Brewers and Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies. He played his freshman season at Texarkana College (2002) and earned NJCAA All-Region 14 honors after batting .395 with 33 stolen bases. He then continued his career at the University of Texas-Arlington and was subsequently drafted in the second round of the 2004 draft by the Astros.
Franklin will be making his first All-Star appearance after ranking sixth in the National League with 20 saves through the first half of the season. He currently boasts a 0.83 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. He has only given up three earned runs this season and has struck out 24 batters. Franklin was a 1993 NJCAA first-team All-American for Seminole State College and went 20-0 in two seasons for the Trojans. He was selected in the 1992 draft by the Mariners but did not sign with the club until the spring of 1993. He went 3-0 in four appearances in helping lead Team USA to the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Bay, now a three-time All-Star, is off to a hot start this year with the Red Sox. He currently leads the AL in RBIs with 72 and leads his team with 20 home runs (tied for 5th in AL). Bay has come through in the clutch many times this year for the Red Sox. In fact he tied a club record, and nearly set a new MLB record, when he homered in 11 straight plate appearances with runners on base. He recently was ranked No. 41 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. Bay played two seasons at North Idaho College (1997, 1998) where he earned All-Scenic West Conference honors both seasons. He was selected in the 20th round by the Montreal Expos in the 2000 MLB draft.
Now in his ninth season, Buehrle has accomplished some great feats since his MLB debut in 2000. He has won a World Series title and tossed a no-hitter - both with the White Sox. He is off to a great 2009 campaign touting a 9-2 record with a .314 ERA, which made him a lock for a fourth All-Star selection.
Buehrle was a 1999 NJCAA third-team All-American at Jefferson College and was signed by the White Sox in the spring of 1999 after selecting him in the '98 draft. He ascended to the majors after just 16 starts in the minor leagues. The All-Star Futures Game and the Home Run Derby will be broadcast live on one of the ESPN channels on July 12 and 13, while the MLB All-Star Game can be seen live July 14 on FOX at 7 p.m. (ET).
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