Melancon pitched for Duluth in 2004
Rochester, MN – Major League Baseball announced on Sunday that Pirates reliever Mark Melancon would be an injury replacement for the 2013 MLB All Star Game to be played on July 16th at Citi Field in New York.
Melancon is the 6thformer Northwoods League player to be selected for the game.
The six former Northwoods League players are:
Tigers – Max Scherzer (La Crosse)
White Sox – Chris Sale (La Crosse)
Rays – Ben Zobrist (Wisconsin)
Nationals – Jordan Zimmermann (Eau Claire)
Cardinals – Allen Craig (Alexandria)
Pirates – Mark Melancon (Duluth)
Mark Melancon is enjoying an extremely good season coming out of the Pirates bullpen. He currently carries a.81 ERA and a .79 WHIP to go along with 46 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched. Melancon has appeared in 45 games for the Pirates. Pittsburgh is currently in second place in the National League Central, one game behind St. Louis.
During the 2004 Northwoods League season Melancon appeared in seven games for the Huskies. He struck out 33 batters in 37 innings pitched and owned a 1.95 ERA.
The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate League in North America. The 2013 season marks the 20th season of Northwoods League baseball. 105 former players have gone on to play Major League baseball. Notable alumni of the league include Curtis Granderson (Yankees), Chris Sale (White Sox), Max Scherzer (Tigers), Josh Willingham (Twins) and Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals).
