Six Westerners Play Major League Baseball In 2022
November 7, 2022 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Danbury Westerners News Release
2004 Westerner Adam Ottavino was a key component of the Mets' bullpen this season. In 66 relief appearances covering 65.2 innings he posted a career best WHIP for a full season at 0.975. He recorded 3 saves and 6 wins against 3 losses. He also posted career bests of 2.2 walks per 9 innings and strikeout to walk ratio of 4.94.
In a strange split, hitters in the first through eighth position in the batting order hit .178 against Ottavino while ninth place hitters batted .407.
In his first full year in MLB, 2016 Westerner Josiah Gray made 28 starts for the Washington Nationals. He won 7 and lost 10 while compiling a 5.02 ERA and a WHIP of 1.359. He struck out 154 batters in 148.2 innings.
Walks and home runs proved Gray's undoing. He surrendered the most home runs of any MLB pitcher (38) and the most walks (66) of any National League pitcher.
Gray showed how high his upside is in a five start stretch in May and June when over 29 innings he pitched to a 1.24 ERA and a WHIP of 1.000. He gave up only 3 home runs over that stretch and won 2 with 3 no decisions.
2016 Westerner David Villar became the 26th Westerner to reach MLB when he took the field for the San Francisco Giants on July 4th. After 23 games he was batting only .175 with a .623 OPS and was returned to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League on August 5th. He was recalled at the beginning of September and over his last 26 games with San Francisco batted .291 with a .967 OPS.
Overall, in 52 games with the Giants, David hit .231 with 6 doubles, 9 home runs and 24 RBIs. His OPS+ of 120 was second best on the Giants among those who played at least 50 games.
In the field Villar played 27 games at third base, 11 at first base and 6 at second base.
Between San Francisco and Sacramento David hit 36 home runs in 2022, the most ever by a Westerner in a professional season.
2011 Westerner Mike Ford became just the 18th man to play for four different major league teams in the same season when he went 2 for 4 and played first base for the Los Angeles Angels against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 25th.
In his fourth MLB season, Ford matched his career high by playing in 50 games in stints with the Giants, Mariners, Braves and Angels. In 131 at bats he hit .206 with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs. Against his first MLB team, the Yankees, he went 4 for 8 with a walk and two home runs.
Despite having spent all of 2021 in the majors with Oakland, 2014 Westerner Vimael Machin lost his spot on the A's 40 man roster at the end of spring training and was sent back to the minors. But with the A's opening day third baseman batting under .200 and Machin tearing up the Pacific Coast League (.324/.401/.457) the A's purchased his contract on June 30.
Machin started 68 games at third base and played in 73 of Oakland's 85 remaining games. In 253 plate appearances he batted .220 with 12 doubles and his first major league home run. He also had his first major league stolen base.
2014 Westerner Josh Palacios began his 2022 season with the Blue Jays AAA club in Buffalo. One week into the season he was designated for assignment, claimed by the Nationals and assigned to their AAA team in Rochester. On August 2nd he was called up to the majors and played in eight games before being sent back to the minors. He was recalled a week later and spent the remainder of the season on the Washington roster.
In all Palacios played in 29 MLB games, going 10 for 47 with two doubles and 2 RBIs. He played 12 games in right field and 9 in left. Josh will carry a three game hitting streak into the 2023 season.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from November 7, 2022
- Six Westerners Play Major League Baseball In 2022 - Danbury Westerners
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