Northwoods League Alums Participating in the World Baseball Classic
March 7, 2023 - Northwoods League (Northwoods) News Release
Rochester, Minn. - As the World Baseball Classic begins today, twenty-two former Northwoods League players will be competing in the event. The tournament features professional players from the major leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created to further promote the game around the globe.
After a three-year gap between the first two tournaments, plans were made for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The third installment of the Classic was held in 2013, and the fourth was held in 2017. The fifth was scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listed below are the players by country, Northwoods League team, and current MLB affiliation if any.
Netherlands
Richie Palacios, Wisconsin Rapids 2016, Cleveland AAA
Italy
Ben DeLuzio, St. Cloud 2016, St. Louis Cardinals
Miles Mastrobuoni, Rochester 2015, Tampa Bay AAA
Dominic Miroglio, Duluth 2014-2015, Arizona AAA
Glenn Albanese, Wisconsin Rapids 2020, Los Angeles Angels Hi-A
Matteo Bocchi, Rochester 2018, N/A
Japan
Lars Nootbaar, La Crosse 2016, St. Louis Cardinals
Australia
Drew Campbell, Madison 2018, Atlanta Braves Hi-A
Mexico
Austin Barnes, St. Cloud 2010, Los Angeles Dodgers
Canada
Denzel Clarke, Kokomo 2019, Oakland A's Hi-A
Jacob Robson, Thunder Bay 2014, Detroit AAA
Great Britain
Jamie Ritchie, Alexandria 2013/Green Bay 2014, Pittsburgh AAA
Jacob Esch, Madison 2009-2010, N/A
Graham Spraker, La Crosse 2015-2016, Toronto AAA
Colombia
Pedro Garcia, St. Cloud 2019, Cincinnati AA
USA
Pete Alonso, Madison 2014, New York Mets
Israel
Zack Gelof, Kalamazoo 2019, Oakland AA
Matt Mervis, Kalamazoo 2018, Chicago Cubs AAA
Richard Bleier, Alexandria 2007, Boston Red Sox
Colton Gordon, Kenosha 2018, Houston Hi-A
Andrew Gross, Thunder Bay 2018, Tampa Bay Hi-A
Joey Wagman, Wisconsin Rapids 2011, N/A
Northwoods League Stories from March 7, 2023
- Northwoods League Alums Participating in the World Baseball Classic - Northwoods
- Something Incredible Is About to Happen... - Rockford Rivets
- Dock Spiders Seeking Game Day Team Members for 2023 - Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
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.
