Long Beach State University Athletics
MLB Postseason Features Handful of Former Dirtbags
10/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Long Beach, Calif. - The Major League Baseball playoffs begin Tuesday night in Toronto, and a handful of former Dirtbags will be taking part in October baseball this year. Long Beach State again had the most former players on MLB rosters this season with 13, setting the standard across baseball for the seventh year in a row. Current Long Beach State head coach Troy Buckley has coached all of the Dirtbags currently in the big leagues, and has seen a former player win the World Series in each of the past two seasons.
"You certainly have a little more personal attachment to the games now, and I think all of these guys are playing because they want to win," said Buckley. "I think they're beyond the contracts, they're beyond the money, they're playing this game for this time of the year. Their expectations are high, but I think they also respect, value, and appreciate how hard it is to even get to tonight."
The postseason opener features a pair of former Long Beach State baseball stars playing for the host Blue Jays--starting shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 2016 All-Star starting pitcher Marco Estrada. The Blue Jays will be hosting the Baltimore Orioles in tonight's American League Wild Card Game at 5 p.m. PT on TBS.
Pitcher Vance Worley has been with the Orioles all season, but was left off the 25-man roster for the Wild Card round. Because of the one-game, play-in format for this opening round, it is common for teams to carry fewer pitchers on the active roster. Should the Orioles advance, Worley would likely be added to the 25-man roster for subsequent rounds of the postseason.
Later in the playoffs, fans will get to see former Dirtbags Danny Espinosa (Washington Nationals) and Bryan Shaw (Cleveland Indians). Espinosa was one of three starting shortstops in the majors this season to hail from Long Beach State, along with Tulowitzki and Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay Rays).
The winner of tonight's Orioles/Blue Jays matchup advances to Thursday's ALDS-opener at the Texas Rangers. Thursday also signals the start of Cleveland's ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. Finally, Espinosa and the Nationals will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in their first NLDS game on Friday in the nation's capital.
