Sale will be making his World Series debut, St. Cloud alum Austin Barnes playing for the Dodgers
Rochester, Minn. – As the MLB World Series begins tonight, two former Northwoods League players are looking for their first championship ring.
In his first appearance in a World Series, Chris Sale will take the mound in game one for the American League Champion Red Sox. For the regular season, Sale was 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA. He struck out 237 batters in 158 innings and had a 0.86 WHIP. During the 2018 postseason Sale is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA. He has pitched in two games and has 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings. Sale pitched for the La Crosse Loggers in 2008.
In the National League, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is making his second appearance in the World Series. Barnes was a member of the 2010 St. Cloud River Bats. During the 2018 regular season Barnes hit .205 with four home runs and 14 RBI over 200 at bats. Another former Logger, Scott Alexander, was on the Dodgers NLDS roster. During the regular season, Alexander was 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA over 73 games. He had a 1.27 WHIP and struck out 56 batters in 66 innings. Alexander pitched in La Crosse during the 2008 season.
Nine other Northwoods League alums have also participated in the 2018 MLB playoffs in the earlier rounds.
In the National League, Curtis Granderson (Mankato ’01) was with the National League Central Division Champion Milwaukee Brewers. Alec Mills (Madison ’12) and Ben Zobrist (Wisconsin ’03) were in the National League Wild Card game for the Chicago Cubs. Lucas Duda (Alexandria ’06) was with National League East Division Champion Atlanta Braves through the NLDS.
On the American League side, Matt Chapman (La Crosse ’12), Marcus Semien (Alexandria ’09-’10) and Mark Canha (St. Cloud ’08) were with the Oakland A’s who lost to the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game. Adam Cimber (Green Bay ’11) was with the American League Central Division Champion Indians through the ALDS and Tony Kemp (Rochester ’11) was with the defending World Series Champion Astros through the ALCS.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 200 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIL). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
