Mixed results for Long Beach State Dirtbags in Major League Baseball

For the eighth consecutive season, Long Beach State had the most former players in Major League Baseball of any other college or university. However, the 13 Dirtbags in the MLB experienced mixed results this year.

Dirtbag pitching legend Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angles had one of their worst seasons in years. While the Angles wallow in last place in the American League West, Weaver’s ERA of 5.17 is by far the highest of his career, and his 12 losses match a career high.

This statistical drop off was a long time coming as Weaver, 33, struggled with arm injuries and a resulting loss of velocity. However, the veteran right-hander has found success by becoming more of a location pitcher. Last Friday, Weaver delivered his second consecutive quality start, third in his last four outings, in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow Dirtbag product Troy Tulowitzki’s home run plated the only runs allowed by Weaver, who has allowed an American League-leading 36 home runs. Weaver will be a free agent during the offseason, and it looks unlikely the Angles will retain his services.

Tulowitzki, in his first full season in Toronto, once again saw his season cut short by injury. The 31-year-old shortstop missed a month of games in May and June, but still hit .317 with four home runs in his first 10 games back. His batting average of .254 and slugging percentage of .452 are almost 50 points lower than his career numbers.

The Blue Jays would be one of the A.L. wild-card teams if the MLB playoffs started today. Tulowitzki has stepped his game up for the stretch run, and has hit .279 with two home runs and seven RBIs this month.

Also in Toronto, former Dirtbag pitcher Marco Estrada came though with a huge performance this week for the slumping Blue Jays. Estrada has struggled since coming off the disabled list with back problems, but he almost completed a no-hitter in Seattle on Monday and picked up the victory to even his overall record at 9-9.

Estrada took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Robinson Cano led off with a single for the Mariners. In his previous six starts, Estrada was 1-4 with a 7.53 ERA. This month, he’s allowed 12 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. The Cano single was the only hit Estrada allowed on Monday while striking out eight in seven innings.

“I’m not really sure what’s been going on, as the game gets going I start to struggle a little bit,” Estrada told the Associated Press. “We looked at video and there have been little things here and there that we caught. We changed it up and felt pretty good today.”

Estrada was selected for the 2016 American League All-Star team in July, so the city of Long Beach has now had a representative in all but one All-Star game since 1989, and Long Beach State has had an All-Star in each of the last nine seasons.

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Evan Longoria has been one of the lone bright spots for the Tampa Bay Rays. The 30-year-old third baseman hit his career-high 34th home run last Friday, and his .279 batting average and .533 slugging percentage are both better than his overall career numbers.

“It’s definitely fulfilling for me to know whatever I set my mind to, I’ve proven to myself that I can go out and accomplish those things,” Longoria told MLB.com. “There’s still some work to be done.”

Longoria hit another home run over the weekend to pass Jose Canseco for the single-season Tampa Bay Rays record for home runs by a right-handed hitter. Longoria has also driven in 94 runs, the most since his All-Star 2011 season.

Danny Espinosa, 29, also set a career high in home runs this season with 22 for the Washington Nationals. The shortstop has bounced back and forth from the Washington minor league affiliates, but has carved a spot out for himself in the Nationals’ order. Espinosa is tied for the team lead with 145 games played.

“I love the grind of baseball,” Espinosa told the Washington Post last week. “It’s awesome. It’s fun. Physically, just try to stay with the routine you’ve been with all season — not try to do more or do extra — just try to stay with what you’ve been doing, so you can keep your routine and you’re not counting yourself out as the season goes.”

Bryan Shaw has been the most reliable arm in the A.L. Central-leading Cleveland Indians’ bullpen this season. Shaw, 28, has appeared in 70 games with a 3.18 ERA and 63 strikeouts. His ERA hasn’t been above 2.00 in the last month, and he’ll be a major key for the Indians’ playoff hopes.

Vance Worley has maintained a role as a reliever in the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen. Worley appeared in 34 games for the Orioles, and in 83 1/3 innings pitched, he carried a 3.56 ERA and struck out 52.

Jared Hughes has been great out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen this season, and especially this month. In the last 15 days, Hughes carried a 1.72 ERA though 15 2/3 innings pitched while striking out nine.

The Seattle Mariners scooped up Nick Vincent when the San Diego Padres released him before the season started. It turned out to be the Mariners’ gain. Vincent has appeared in 53 games with a 3.52 ERA. He also had two saves and an impressive 1.06 WHIP.

After 14 months on the disabled list recovering from Tommy John surgery, Jason Vargas returned to the mound for the Kansas City Royals last Saturday. Vargas, 33, looked good in his three innings of work during a Royals win.

“Anybody coming back from a surgery, this is their goal,” Vargas told MLB.com. “I’m definitely very fortunate that we’ve had everything happen with all the right steps. It feels good. I knew if I had the opportunity to get out there this year it would be icing on the cake as far as going into next season.”

Matt Duffy, who was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Tampa Bay Rays this summer, underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon to have a bone debridement and a bursa removed. The Rays say Duffy should be ready for 2017 spring training. The 25-year-old hit .295 with 12 homers and 12 stolen bases in 2015, but only played 91 games while hitting .258 with five home runs.

In Texas, pitcher Cesar Ramos struggled in 16 games with the Rangers and was signed to a minor league deal by the Detroit Tigers in August.

Branden Pinder only pitched in one game for the New York Yankees this season.

*Statistics Through Sept. 19