54 and counting...Princeton franchise alumni MLB debuts
Of course, trying to pick out the future big leaguers while they are in Princeton is actually challenging for fans. The most players off any one year's team to make it to "The Show" was eight from the 1999 squad, a team that finished with a dismal 25-45 record that year but one that included 2010 American League All-Star starting outfielders Carl Crawford and Josh Hamilton. Then you have the surprises that the average fan at Hunnicutt Field may never have anticipated: position players such as Brandon Backe, Juan Salas, amd Travis Schlichting forsaking that role to punch their ticket to the big leagues by converting to pitching.
Every Princeton team from 1988-2006 has had at least one team member to go on to play in the big leagues.
The year that really swelled the numbers for Princeton was 2001, when ten players with Princeton ties made their MLB debuts.
You will see names among these ranks that represented Princeton as members of the Pirates and Reds as well as the Rays. Amazingly, the Princeton co-op team of 1990, known as the Patriots (stocked by several MLB teams but comprised mostly of Phillies' farmhands) actually produced three big league pitchers.
Coming back to Princeton for second season is not necessarily a sign that a player is not big league material as several players spent multiple seasons here before advancing on to the bright lights of the big time.
Fans who love numbers and the history of baseball in Princeton will enjoy the list to follow that details in chronological order each of the 54 players in Princeton history that have gone on to play in the majors along with their Major League Baseball debut date.
Enjoy, and be thinking about where this list is concerned, who's next?
DEBUT DATE..PLAYER NAME..PRINCETON YEAR
06/27/92: OF Will Pennyfeather (1988 & 1995)
07/28/92: RHP Blas Minor (1988)
09/01/92: IF Willie Greene (1989)
06/16/93: 1B Ben Shelton (1988)
04/06/94: RHP Kevin Jarvis (1991)
04/10/96: LHP Joel Adamson (1990)
05/31/96: RHP Ron Blazier (1990)
09/19/96: RHP Curt Lyons (1992 & 1994)
04/01/97: IF Pokey Reese (1991)
07/04/97: LHP Matt Whisenant (1990)
07/13/97: RHP Chad Fox (1992)
07/15/97: C Mandy Romero (1988)
09/03/97: IF Luis Ordaz (1993-1994)
06/21/98: LHP Will Brunson (1992)
08/29/99: RHP Buddy Carlyle (1996)
09/12/99: RHP Jeff Sparks (1995)
04/19/01: RHP Travis Phelps (1997)
06/06/01: LHP Joe Kennedy (1998)
06/16/01: LHP Lance Davis (1995-1996)
06/21/01: RHP Victor Zambrano (1997)
07/29/01: RHP Jason Standridge (1998)
08/07/01: 3B Jared Sandberg (1997)
09/08/01: C Paul Hoover (1997)
09/09/01: C Humberto Cota (1998)
09/19/01: IF James Lofton (1993)
10/02/01: RHP Mark Corey (1995)
04/16/02: RHP Delvin James (1997)
07/19/02: RHP Brandon Backe (1998)
07/20/02: OF Carl Crawford (1999)
03/31/03: OF Rocco Baldelli (2000)
03/31/03: RHP Seth McClung (1999)
08/27/03: RHP Doug Waechter (1999)
09/02/03: C Pete Laforest (1998)
09/12/03: OF Jonny Gomes (2001)
06/29/04: RHP Bartolome Fortunato (2000)
04/11/06: RHP Jason Hammel (2002)
05/21/06: IF Yurendell deCaster (1999)
08/05/06: RHP Jose "Enger" Veras (1999)
09/03/06: RHP Brian Stokes (1999)
09/05/06: RHP Juan Salas (1999 & 2004)
09/05/06: C Shawn Riggans (2001)
04/02/07: OF Josh Hamilton (1999)
09/03/07: LHP Chris Seddon (2001)
09/17/07: LHP Jeff Ridgway (2000)
04/05/08: IF Elliot Johnson (2002)
05/12/08: IF Edgar Gonzalez (2000)
07/02/08: 1B Wes Bankston (2002)
07/04/08: IF Reid Brignac (2004)
09/03/08: OF Jason Pridie (2002)
06/07/09: RHP Travis Schlichting (2003)
09/06/09: RHP Wade Davis (2004)
08/02/10: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2005)
09/01/10: OF Desmond Jennings (2006)
09/14/10: LHP Jake McGee (2004)