EL1 Harrisburg Senators

Strasburg Newest Senator in the Big Leagues

Published on June 10, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Harrisburg Senators News Release


Stephen Strasburg made his major league debut on Tuesday night at Nationals Park in Washington in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 40,315. Strasburg began his professional career this April, and made his first five starts with the Senators. He was the number-one pick in the 2009 draft, and instantly put Harrisburg on the national baseball map-along with Syracuse and Washington, DC. Tonight, he joins a short list of baseball players to read Letterman's Top Ten list on the Late Show with David Letterman.

But Strasburg isn't the only former Senators to make an impact in the major leagues. He joined fellow 2009 first round draft choice,

Drew Storen. Storen was previously promoted from Syracuse to Washington this season. In the 24 seasons the Harrisburg Senators have been playing baseball, over 260 players-- 267 to be exact--have donned both a big league and a Harrisburg Senators uniform. From the first player to wear both, Rafael Belliard, to Strasburg, the Senators have had a long, rich history of sending players onward. With 267 big-leaguers since 1987, the Sens have averaged just over 11 per season.

Below is a selected list, in alphabetical order, of prominent Sens to reach the big leagues:

Moises Alou '89 & '90 was a six-time All-Star during his long and storied career. Among his other notable achievements, he hit three home runs on 7/4/2003 and had a 30-game hitting streak in 2007. Alou won a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins in 2007. He played 17 seasons, for seven different teams, in the big leagues and hit 332 home runs.

Orlando Cabrera '97 has won two Gold Glove Awards and was a member of the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox batting .294 with six home runs and 31 RBIs.

Jamey Carroll '98, '99, '00 & '02 was a fan favorite while playing on City Island. He toiled for parts of seven seasons in the minors before making his major league debut on 9/11/02 with the Montreal Expos. He has made a career of being the best player off the bench with Montreal, Washington, Colorado, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

Cliff Floyd '93 was the Eastern League MVP in '93 before moving onto the big leagues in '94. He was a 2001 National League All-Star and was a member of the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Marlins.

Armando Galarraga '05 has had an up and down career but just last week came within an out of pitching the 21st perfect game in major league baseball history.

Vladimir Guerrero '96 was the Eastern League MVP in '96 and is the best former Senator in the big leagues. During his storied career he is an eight-time Major League All-Star. He has hit more than 40 home runs in a season twice. In 2001 and 2002 he joined the 30-30 club with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He has hit more home runs for the Expos/Nationals (234) than anyone else.

Cliff Lee '02 was the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner and AL Comeback Player of the Year. He was a two-time AL Pitcher of the Month in 2008 as well as being an American League All-Star. He has been traded twice in the past year, to Philadelphia where he appeared in the playoffs and World Series and then to Seattle.

Matt Stairs '91 was the Eastern League MVP in '91. He was a fan favorite while with the Senators and has gone on to play for 17 seasons in the big leagues with 11 different teams. He was a member of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Randy Tomlin '89 & '90 is the current pitching coach for the Senators. His career was cut short by an injury but he pitched in the playoffs twice with the Pirates and went 14-9 in 1992 with a 3.41 ERA. He was the June 1992 National League Pitcher of the Month.

Brad Wilkerson '99 & '00 represented the United States in the 2000 Olympic Games. He homered three times on 7/3/07 for the Texas Rangers. He has twice hit for the cycle in the big leagues, the first time on 6/24/03 and then again on 4/6/05, becoming the first Washington National to hit for the cycle.

Currently there are eight former Senators in a Washington Nationals uniform. This is the most former Senators on a Nationals active roster (March - August) since the Expos moved to Washington to start the 2005 season. They are pitchers Luis Atilano, Miguel Batista, John Lannan, Drew Storen and Stephen Strasburg; infielders Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman and outfielder Roger Bernadina.

To see more future stars of tomorrow at Metro Bank Park, purchase tickets online 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.senatorsbaseball.com. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Sens box office from 9:00am to 5:00pm daily Monday through Friday, or until the 5th inning when the Senators are at home. Ticket purchases can also be made by phoning the Senators at 231-4444 option 2 during the same hours as they are available in person. Tickets are still available for the 2010 Eastern League All-Star game on July 14th at Metro Bank Park.

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Eastern League Stories from June 10, 2010


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