UCLA Baseball Well-Represented in MLB Postseason
October 03, 2016 | Baseball
Seven former UCLA baseball players who competed in Major League Baseball this season have seen their teams advance to the postseason.
In addition, former UCLA players Dave Roberts and Torey Lovullo have helped their respective MLB teams to postseason play as coaches โ Roberts as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lovullo as bench coach of the Boston Red Sox.
While not all 25-man playoff rosters have been finalized, the following seven ballplayers earned playing time on these postseason-bound teams โ Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians), Trevor Brown (San Francisco Giants), Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants), Matt Grace (Washington Nationals), Erik Goeddel (New York Mets), Adam Plutko (Cleveland Indians) and Chase Utley (Los Angeles Dodgers). In addition, Torey Lovullo has served as the Boston Red Sox bench coach this season, his fourth year with the organization in that capacity.
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Sunday marked the final day in MLB's regular season, a day in which Crawford and Brown helped San Francisco secure the final of two National League Wild Card spots. Crawford completed his fifth season in the majors by hitting a career-best .275 with 12 home runs, 11 triples, 28 doubles and 84 RBI. Brown batted .237 with five home runs in 75 games as San Francisco's backup catcher, playing his first full season in the majors.
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Second baseman Chase Utley led the Los Angeles Dodgers to their fourth consecutive National West Division Title. Utley, who played at UCLA from 1998-2000, batted .252 this season, totaling 14 home runs, 52 RBI and a .319 on-base percentage in 138 games. The former standout at Long Beach Poly will play in MLB's postseason for the seventh year in 14 major-league seasons. He was a major contributor to the Philadelphia Phillies winning the 2008 World Series.
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Bauer, who starred in UCLA's pitching rotation from 2009-11, will take the mound for Cleveland in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday against the Boston Red Sox. The right-hander from Valencia, Calif., had a career-best 12-8 record in 2016, posting a 4.26 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 190.0 innings. This will mark Bauer's first-ever postseason appearance.
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Goeddel and the New York Mets secured one of two spots in the National League's Wild Card game. The right-handed relief pitcher went 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA in 36 relief appearances for New York. The Mets and the San Francisco Giants will face off Wednesday, with the winning team advancing to a best-of-five National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.
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Grace, who was called up to the Washington Nationals in September, made five relief appearances. He did not earn a decision, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, no walks and one hit allowed. Washington will face the L.A. Dodgers starting Friday in the National League Division Series.
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Plutko made his major league debut on Sept. 24 and concluded his initial major-league campaign having allowed three runs and five hits in 3.2 innings out of the bullpen (over two appearances).
Roberts played for the Bruins from 1991-94 and was chosen in the 28th round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. He played in the majors from 1999 through 2008. This has been Roberts first season as a major league manager.
Lovullo starred at UCLA from 1984-87 before being selected in the fifth round of the 1987 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. He played in the major leagues from 1988 through 1999 before embarking on his professional coaching career. Lovullo was named as the Red Sox bench coach in October 2012. This season, the Red Sox won the American League East Division Title and will face the Cleveland Indians in a best-of-five AL Division Series.