UVA Baseball Alumni Final 2021 MLB Stats & Highlights

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While I’ve been admittedly focused on UVA football and the NFL, it’s time for postseason baseball. Virginia doesn’t have many representatives like some recent years, but Chris Taylor is doing his best to hold down the fort. That said, here’s how the entire UVA alumni gang finished the 2021 MLB season.

The Old Heads

Chris Taylor, Los Angeles Dodgers

GP: 148
BA: .254
HR: 20
RBI: 73
OPS: .782
WAR: 2.7

Note: Only Virginia baseball alum to make the all-star team or have his team advance to the postseason. CT3 added 13 steals this season (his most since 2017) and was only caught once. He’s carrying the Wahoo torch into October…and we’re OK with that.

Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

GP: 110
BA: .243
HR: 14
RBI: 46
OPS: .756
WAR: 1.2

Note: Quite possibly played his last MLB game a few days ago. Zimm was given a heartfelt ovation from the D.C. crowd. He is Nationals baseball, and it’s amazing how he played his whole baseball career in the same region. It must be noted the invitation is open for a return.

Sean Doolittle, Seattle Mariners

GP: 56
IP: 49.2
W-L: 3-1
ERA: 4.53
BAA: .258
WAR: 0.7

Note: Cincinnati released Doolittle in mid-season only to be picked up by Seattle for their stretch run. They wound up missing out on the postseason, but Doolittle appeared in 11 games. The highlight of Doolittle’s season was his return to Washington where he won a World Series and was a fan-favorite.

Phil Gosselin, Los Angeles Angels

GP: 104
BA: .261
HR: 7
RBI: 47
OPS: .676
WAR: -0.3

Note: Real happy for Goose. He topped 100 games for the first time since 2016 and more than doubled his best single-season home run total (7).

The Next Gen

Pavin Smith, Arizona Diamondbacks 

GP: 145
BA: .267
HR: 11
RBI: 49
OPS: .732
WAR: -0.2

Note: Hats off to Pavin for playing an entire MLB season. He’s a professional hitter, and that will be his calling card down the line.

Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks

GP: 24
BA: .220
HR: 2
RBI: 4
SB: 3
OPS: .706
WAR: 0.4

Note: Once teammates in Charlottesville, McCarthy and Pavin Smith were reunited for the season’s final month. Jake was impressive in his first taste of big-league action, and manager Torey Lovullo agrees. “He’s got a lot of ability,” Lovullo said via AZ Central. “He’s got a lot of tools.”

Ernie Clement, Cleveland Indians

GP: 40
BA: .231
HR: 3
RBI: 9
OPS: .623
WAR: 0.2

Note: Was a beast with the leather, as usual, and finished with 2.5 DEF (fielding runs above average) in just 40 games. By comparison, Francisco Lindor finished with 5.2 DEF in 125 games. Also, who can forget his first MLB homer being followed by another homer.

Daniel Lynch, Kansas City Royals

GP: 15
IP: 68
W-L: 4-6
ERA: 5.69
BAA: .295
WAR: -0.1

Note: Lynch has the potential to be a front-end rotation guy. He showed it this year over a month. Between July 25 and August 28, he made seven starts and posted a 2.23 ERA. What’s more, the Royals went 6-1.

Josh Sborz, Texas Rangers

GP: 63
IP: 68
W-L: 4-3
ERA: 3.97
BAA: .234
WAR: 0.3

Note: Josh Sborz quietly put together a solid season and finished it with a season-best 2.31 ERA in September/October.

Cup of Coffee Grinders

Adam Haseley, Philadelphia Phillies

GP: 9
BA: .190 (4-for-21)
OPS: .429

Note: Haseley was on the Phillies Opening Day roster, but it didn’t take this year. The former first-round pick’s future is one of the big question marks on Phillies blogs and among Phillies fans.

Derek Fisher, Milwaukee Brewers

GP: 4
BA: .250 (2-for-8)
OPS: .750

Note: Fisher made it five straight seasons appearing in MLB games, though it was for a short four-game cup of coffee.

John Hicks, Texas Rangers

GP: 10
BA: .258 (8-for-31)
HR: 4
RBI: 7
OPS: .935

Note: Hicks made a mega splash with his new team this season, becoming the first player in club history with four home runs in his first four games. He cooled off at the end of the month, thus ending his three-week stay in the bigs.

Matt Thaiss, Los Angeles Angels

GP: 3
BA: .143 (1-for-7)
OBP: .250

Note: Like his former UVA teammate Derek Fisher, Matt Thaiss notched less than 10 at-bats at the MLB level this season. That said, he had an eventful year; Thaiss switched back to catcher — his position at UVA — and made 54 starts for Triple-A Salt Lake behind the dish. It went so well that he was called back up at the end of the season as a catcher, though he didn’t get any innings.

Brandon Waddell, St. Louis Cardinals

GP: 9
IP: 9.1
ERA: 6.75
WAR: -0.3

Note: Waddell also had an eventful year, but instead of hopping positions he was hopping MLB cities. Waddell went from Minnesota to Baltimore to St. Louis, appearing in games for all three teams, plus minor league cities Norfolk and Memphis.

Alec Bettinger, Milwaukee Brewers

GP: 4
IP: 10
ERA: 13.50
WAR: -0.6

Note: Not the best numbers but let’s look at the bright side. Alec received a call-up to the bigs for the first time in his career, then got recalled a second time even though he wasn’t lights out the first time around.