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Drillers ONEOK Field All-Decade Team

2019 National MVP Cody Bellinger leads the Drillers All-Time ONEOK Field squad.
May 19, 2020

National All-Stars Nolan Arenado and Cody Belling highlight the Drillers ONEOK Field All-Decade Team as selected by fans.

National All-Stars Nolan Arenado and Cody Belling highlight the Drillers ONEOK Field All-Decade Team as selected by fans.

Since its opening in 2010, ONEOK Field has hosted a number of great players, many of whom have gone on to achieve superstar status in Major League Baseball. Former players have been named All-Stars and have won Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and even MVP awards. In fact, six of the past 12 MVP winners in Major League Baseball have played at ONEOK Field at some point in their careers.

With this level of player to choose from, we decided to name ONEOK Field All-Decade teams from the historic first ten seasons of the stadium. We started with identifying the Drillers All-Decade Team. The only criteria for members of this team were they had to have played for the Drillers from 2010-2019, and they had to have played in a game at ONEOK Field.

Three candidates at each position were selected and the final “starting lineup” was determined by voting on Twitter by DrillVille fans. The voting was close and there were a few upsets in deciding certain positions. Below, are the players that fans selected for the Drillers ONEOK Field All-Decade Team.

Walker Buehler - Starting Pitcher

Walker Buehler played for the Drillers in 2017. While in Tulsa, Buehler had a 3.49 ERA in 11 games. He made his Major League debut that same season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During parts of three seasons in the majors with the Dodgers, Buehler has a career 3.12 ERA and was named a 2019 NL All- Star.

Dustin May – Starting Pitcher

Dustin May spent time in Tulsa during parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, compiling a 3.72 ERA in 21 games. May set the record for most strikeouts in a game at ONEOK Field with 14 and also helped lead the Drillers to a 2018 Texas League Championship. He made his Major League debut in 2019 for the Dodgers and has a 3.63 ERA in 14 games with the club.

Julio Urías – Relief Pitcher

Julio Urias pitched for the Drillers in 2015. While in Tulsa, Urias had a 2.77 ERA in 13 games. The lefthander made his Major League debut in 2016 for the Dodgers and has been converted from a starting pitcher to a bullpen specialist. In his MLB career, he career has posted a 3.18 ERA in 63 games.

Caleb Ferguson – Relief Pitcher

Caleb Ferguson was a starting pitcher for the Drillers during a portion of the2018 campaign, logging a 1.38 ERA in 8 games. Ferguson made his Major League debut in 2018 for the Dodgers and has a career 4.13 ERA in 75 games with the club, mostly in relief.

Will Smith - Catcher

Catcher Will Smith have spent time in Tulsa during both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, compiling a .263 batting average with 19 home runs in 74 games . Smith made his major league debut in 2019 for LA and hit two dramatic, walk-off home runs, one being his first Major League homer.

Cody Bellinger – First Base

Cody Bellinger played first base for the Drillers in 2016 and had a .263 batting average with 23 home runs, including a walk-off grand slam. Bellinger made his Major League debut in 2017 and has won multiple awards since entering the majors. He was named National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the National League Most Valuable Player in 2019.

Gavin Lux – Second Base

Gavin Lux joined the Drillers late in the 2018 season and returned for the first half of the 2019 campaign. While with the Drillers Lux had a .316 batting average in 92 regular season games. In 2018, he was selected by Baseball America as a Minor League All-Star after helping lead the Drillers to their first Texas League Championship in 20 years. In 2019, was a mid-season Texas League All-Star and was eventually named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. He made his major league debut late in the 2019 season and played in several post-season games for the Dodgers.

Five-time NL All-Star and seven-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado is the starting third baseman on the Drillers ONEOK Field All-Decade Team.Rich Crimi

Nolan Arenado – Third Base

Nolan Arenado gave Tulsa fans a glimpse of his future major league career, starring for the Drillers at third base in 2012 when the club was an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. While with the Drillers, Arenado had a .285 batting average in 134 games, and was named a Texas League All-Star. He made his Major League debut in 2013 for the Rockies and has become a superstar, winning numerous awards and accolades including: seven NL Gold Gloves, 5-time NL All-Star, 4-time NL Silver Slugger and 3-time NL Platinum Glove.

Corey Seager - Shorstop

Shortstop Corey Seager opened the 2015 season with the Drillers and hit .375 in 20 games. Seager made his Major League debut in 2015, and during five seasons with the Dodgers, he has a career .294 batting average. Seager is a 2-time NL Silver Slugger and 2-time NL All-Star and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2016.

Alex Verdugo – Left Field

Outfielder Alex Verdugo played the 2016 season for the Tulsa Drillers and hit .273 in 126 games. Verdugo made his Major League debut in 2017 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and during his 3 seasons with the club Verdugo had a .282 batting average. Verdugo was recently apart of the blockbuster trade that brought Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers and sent Jeter Downs, Connor Wong and Verdugo to the Boston Red Sox.

DJ Peters – Center Field

DJ Peters played centerfield for Tulsa in 2018 and part of the 2019 seasons. He hit .238 batting in 200 games in his career with the Drillers. In 2018 Peters led the Texas League in home runs and helped lead Tulsa to their first Texas League Championship in 20 years. Peters currently plays for the Oklahoma City Dodgers.

Cody Thomas – Right Field

Cody Thomas rounds out the outfield in right. Thomas played for the Tulsa Drillers in 2019 and had .236 batting average in 130 games last season. In 2019 Thomas was named a mid-season Texas League All-Star and led the Texas League in home runs with 23. Thomas was also a bright young star in spring training back in March. Thomas was tied for first in home runs and proved to be a great defensive asset, including robbing a home run.

There was room for only 12 players on the All-Decade Team and the final “starting lineup,” meaning a few players were left without a spot. Without a doubt, a strong bench could be put together with names like Charlie Blackmon, Matt Beaty, Trevor Story, Corey Dickerson and Jon Gray available. In the end, it proves that we have been treated to many great players and ten great seasons of baseball at ONEOK Field!