RiverDogs Well-Represented in Cincinnati at MLB's All-Star Festivities
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Four former Charleston RiverDogs have made the trip to Cincinnati to take part in Major League Baseball's All-Star Festivities as outfielder Brett Gardner and right-handed pitcher Dellin Betances will both play in Tuesday's All-Star game, while catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielder Aaron Judge represented the World and USA teams, respectively in Sunday's Futures Game.
Gardner, 31, was selected to the first MLB All-Star game of his eight-year career. The Holly Hill, S.C. native enters the break hitting a team-high .302, with 10 homers, 42 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. He was originally part of MLB's Final Vote for the game, but earned the selection when Kansas City's Alex Gordon suffered an injury. The outfielder played in one game with the RiverDogs on a rehab assignment in 2012, where he went 1-for-3 with a single and stolen base.
In 2003, Gardner attended walk-on tryouts for the baseball team at the College of Charleston and became a three-year starter for the Cougars. In 2004, he was chosen to the All-Southern Conference team, and in 2005, his .447 batting average was third-best in the nation and his 122 hits tied for most in the country. He concluded his collegiate career as a third-team All-American and a two-time All-SoCon player. He was also a guest of honor at the RiverDogs' Hot Stove Banquet in January 2015.
Betances, 27, earned the second All-Star selection of his big-league career. The New York, NY native has been a concrete figure in the backend of the Yankees bullpen this season. He is 5-2 with seven saves and has compiled a 1.58 ERA. In 45.2 innings, he has allowed just 11 runs, 8 earned, on 19 hits, while striking out 75 and walking only 18. He earned a trip to the 2014 All-Star game at Target Field in Minneapolis, but did not pitch in the game.
The righty played most of the 2008 season with the RiverDogs and went 9-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 22 starts. Betances logged 115.1 innings and allowed 57 runs, 47 earned, on 87 hits, while striking out 135 and walking 59. Opponents in the South Atlantic League hit a measly .208 against him.
Judge, 23, and Sanchez, 22, were both selected to the MLB Futures game from the Yankees' organization. Judge went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the game for the US Team and Sanchez went 1-for-2 for the World Team.
Judge, a native of Linden, Calif., was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 draft. He played for the RiverDogs the first-half of the 2014 season and hit .333 with 9 homers and 45 RBI, good enough for a Mid-Season All-Star nomination. He has played for both Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year and combined to hit .280 with 13 homers and 51 RBI.
Sanchez, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in July 2009. Across the 2011-12 seasons Sanchez played in 150 games with the RiverDogs, hit 30 homers and tallied 108 RBI. He threw out 63-of-204 (31%) attempted base stealers against him in Charleston. The catcher is hitting .258 with 12 homers and 36 RBI in 56 games with Trenton. He has thrown out 22-of-59 (37%) of attempted base stealers.
List of MLB All-Stars who have played for the Royals, Rainbows or RiverDogs:
Royals
Danny Jackson
David Cone
Kevin Seitzer
Rainbows
Roberto Alomar
Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Carlos Baerga
Ricky Bones
RiverDogs
Ryan Dempster
Danny Kolb
Carl Crawford
James Shields
Josh Hamilton
Phil Hughes
David Robertson
Dellin Betances
Carl Pavano (Rehab)
Alex Rodriguez (Rehab)
Brett Gardner (Rehab)
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