PCL1 Salt Lake Bees

Four Former Bees to Play in MLB All-Star Game

Published on July 16, 2014 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Salt Lake Bees News Release


For baseball fans and players, there is nothing quite like the All-Star Game. It is the only time of year you can see all of the greatest players in the game in one place. This year's mid-summer classic features four players, Erick Aybar, Mike Trout, Scott Kazmir and Francisco Rodriguez who have put on a Salt Lake uniform and all of them have worked under the guidance or played with Bees Manager Keith Johnson.

Aybar is in his seventh season with the Angels and has been having a career year, owning a .283 batting average this season and giving the Angels consistent production in the middle of the lineup. The 2011 Rawlings Gold Glove winner is no slouch on defense either. Aybar spent most of the 2006 season with Salt Lake hitting .283 with 45 RBIs in 81 games. He has come back to the Bees in injury rehab cameos in 2007, 2011 and 2013.

"I'm happy that he has finally gotten himself elected to All-Star team. It is a much deserving honor. He is a guy who gives his all and he is not afraid to his body on the line to help the team win," said Johnson about Erick Aybar.

Joining Aybar on the AL All-Star team is another consistent performer for the Angels over the last three seasons, Mike Trout. Trout has been a staple in the Angels line up in the last two season winning the AL Silver Slugger Award twice and finishing second in the AL MVP voting in the last two seasons. This season he is hitting .310 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs. Trout spent 20 games in Salt Lake in 2012, hitting a blistering .403 with 5 triples and 13 RBIs.

"Trout is a guy who plays the game far beyond his age. He has a great feel for the game and a fantastic feel for his body. He knows what he needs to do to become successful. He goes about his business in the right way and the consistency in his preparation shows in his play," said Johnson who managed Trout with Salt Lake in 2012. "There wasn't really a lot of coaching, he just need a couple of reminders here and there."

Fellow Angel and member of the 2012 Bees Garrett Richards just missed out on playing in the All-Star game after finishing second in the MLB Final Vote contest. Richards has had a great season thus far, owns a record of 11-2 with an ERA of 2.55 and has struck out 127 batters. Richards went 7-3 in 14 starts for Salt Lake back in 2012 with a 4.21 ERA.

"The only thing that was holding Garrett back from doing the things he is doing now was himself. There was some maturation he needed to undergo. He has shown that maturity by the way he goes about his business toward the end of last year and going into this year. He has shown he can be a front-end of the rotation type of pitcher," Johnson said.

Scott Kazmir now plays for the rival Oakland A's, but spent time in Salt Lake on an injury rehab assignment in 2011. Kazmir struggled to find his command, going 0-5 in five starts with the Bees and a 17.02 ERA before being released by the Angels. Since then, Kazmir spent time playing independent ball, before making his way back to the Majors with the Cleveland Indians organization.

"It has been a long road for him. It started in Cleveland and it has continued in Oakland to return to the player he was after going through a tough spell. That's quite the story considering how he was doing while he was with us," said Johnson on Kazmir.

The lone former Bee on the NL team is closer Francisco Rodriguez, a teammate of Johnson's in 2002 in Salt Lake. Now with the Milwaukee Brewers, Rodriguez has posted 27 saves in the 44 games he has played in this season owning an ERA of 2.44 with a record of 3-3. Rodriguez has made over 300 saves in his Major League career, and had 6 in 27 games with the Salt Lake Stingers in 2002.

"He's a competitor. He will do whatever it takes to get the three outs. Sometimes you are going to lose some and get real nervous at times. He is going to go out there and compete. He gets results way more than he doesn't get them. When he doesn't get the results it does not affect him. I'm glad to see him get back to All-Star status," said Johnson.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 16, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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