Jermaine Curtis Makes Major League Debut with St. Louis Cardinals
April 27, 2013
UCLA's All-Time Major Leaguers 
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Los Angeles, Calif. - Former UCLA third baseman Jermaine Curtis made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals earlier today, appearing as a pinch hitter in the Cardinals' 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo.
Curtis becomes the 70th former UCLA baseball player to compete in the major leagues and the seventh to play for head coach John Savage at UCLA.
The Fontana, Calif. native (A.B. Miller HS) was called up to the active roster yesterday after infielder Matt Adams was sent to the disabled list. Curtis spent just over five years in the Cardinals' minor league system after getting drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by St. Louis. He had appeared in 17 games for the Memphis Redbirds (the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate) this season, hitting .292 with seven runs and 17 RBI.
Curtis was called upon to pinch-hit for Matt Carpenter with one out in the bottom of the ninth of today's game, making his first major league plate appearance. He struck out swinging in his only at-bat of the game.
Curtis played at UCLA for three seasons from 2006-08, compiling a career batting average of .321. He also logged 171 hits, 38 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 80 RBI and 110 runs in his time at UCLA, while leading the Bruins to the postseason in each of his three seasons. Curtis also earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 accolades as a freshman in 2006 after hitting .336 and leading the Bruins with a .473 on-base percentage.
With Curtis' promotion to the big leagues, UCLA now has seven alumni playing in Major League baseball. In addition, the left side of UCLA's infield from 2006-08 has now reached the majors, as Curtis' former UCLA teammate Brandon Crawford is in his third season as the starting shortstop for the San Francisco Giants. There have also now been six players from the 2006 squad that have reached the Major Leagues (Hector Ambriz, Tyson Brummett, Crawford, Curtis, David Huff and Josh Roenicke).
For a complete list of UCLA baseball players in the pros, click here