From the womb in Tucson to the World Series — the number of players born or raised here to play in the Fall Classic will reach seven when Alex Verdugo plays for the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday.
“Butterflies in my stomach, man, we’re almost there,” Verdugo told reporters on Thursday. “When we play (Friday), it’s more like switching from the butterflies to ‘let’s go. It’s game time.'”
Bet you didn’t know Verdugo is the second Tucson native in as many years to play in the World Series.
Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas, born in Tucson in 2000, played in the World Series last season against the Texas Rangers.
Tucson’s history of having one of its own play in the World Series extends to Rincon High School graduate Pat Darcy — who was not born in Tucson but lists Tucson as his hometown because he was raised here — playing in the 1975 epic classic with the Cincinnati Reds against the Boston Red Sox.
Verdugo was drafted in the second round by the Dodgers in 2014 following his senior season with Sahuaro High School.
He wants to exact revenge on the Dodgers for trading him before the 2020 season to the Boston Red Sox in the five-player trade that brought Mookie Betts to Los Angeles.
“I was upset. I was pretty clear I didn’t want to go anywhere,” Verdugo said. “I understood it from a business aspect and all that, but I was pretty hurt by it.”
“You want to win and you want to kind of show them, ‘Hey, you guys got rid of me and maybe it wasn’t the right decision.'”
Verdugo was traded by the Red Sox to the Yankees last December for three players.
Other players of note included in the list of Tucson natives to play in the World Series:
–Former Canyon del Oro High School and Arizona outfielder Brian Anderson played for the Chicago White Sox in 2005 the year they won the title but he was not on the World Series roster.
–Rincon graduate Jason Jacome, born in Tulsa but raised in Tucson, was a left-hander on the Cleveland Indians’ 1997 roster but he did not play in the World Series.
–Pueblo, Pima and Arizona standout George Arias was on the 1998 San Diego Padres roster but did not play in the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Players from Southern Arizona in the World Series
Players from Tucson and the surrounding area who were active on World Series rosters.*-Denotes World Series champion
| Pos | Name | Team | Year | HS | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Pat Darcy | Cincinnati Reds | 1975* | Rincon | |
| LF | Chris Duncan | St. Louis Cardinals | 2006* | CDO | |
| C | Ron Hassey | Oakland Athletics | 1988 | Tucson | Arizona |
| Oakland Athletics | 1989* | ||||
| Oakland Athletics | 1990 | ||||
| 2B | Ian Kinsler | Boston Red Sox | 2018* | CDO | |
| CF | Alek Thomas | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2023 | ||
| LF | Alex Verdugo | New York Yankees | 2024 | Sahuaro | |
| LHP | Ed Vosberg | Florida Marlins | 1997* | Salpointe | Arizona |
LHP PAT DARCY, CINCINNATI REDS, 1975
Darcy in the 1975 World Series vs. the Boston Red Sox: 2 games, 0-1, 4 IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 1K
MLB BACKGROUND
Before 1969 Season: Signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent.
February 18, 1974: Traded by the Astros with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Denis Menke.
March 29, 1977: Traded by the Reds to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Caldwell.
LF CHRIS DUNCAN, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS, 2006
Duncan in the 2006 World Series vs. the Detroit Tigers: 3 games, 1-8, run, double, RBI, two walks, 3 strikeouts
MLB BACKGROUND
June 2, 1999: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round (46th pick) of the 1999 amateur draft. Signed June 23, 1999.
July 22, 2009: Traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Julio Lugo.
August 21, 2009: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
January 19, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Washington Nationals.
November 6, 2010: Granted Free Agency.
C RON HASSEY, OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 1988-1990
Hassey in the 1988 World Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers: 5 games, 2-8, RBI, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
Hassey was a member of the Oakland A’s in 1989 but did not play in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
Hassey in the 1990 World Series vs. the Cincinnati Reds: 3 games, 2-6, RBI
MLB BACKGROUND
June 6, 1972: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round of the 1972 amateur draft, but did not sign (attended Arizona out of Salpointe).
June 3, 1975: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 22nd round of the 1975 amateur draft, but did not sign.
June 8, 1976: Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round of the 1976 amateur draft.
June 13, 1984: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with George Frazier and Rick Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs for Darryl Banks (minors), Joe Carter, Mel Hall and Don Schulze.
December 4, 1984: Traded by the Cubs with Porfi Altamirano, Rich Bordi and Henry Cotto to the New York Yankees for Brian Dayett and Ray Fontenot.
December 12, 1985: Traded by the Yankees with Joe Cowley to the Chicago White Sox for Glenn Braxton (minors), Mike Soper (minors) and Britt Burns.
February 13, 1986: Traded by the White Sox with Chris Alvarez (minors), Eric Schmidt (minors) and Matt Winters to the Yankees for Glenn Braxton (minors), Neil Allen, Scott Bradley and cash.
July 30, 1986: Traded by the Yankees with a player to be named later and Carlos Martínez to the White Sox for Ron Kittle, Joel Skinner and Wayne Tolleson. The Yankees sent Bill Lindsey (December 24, 1986) to the White Sox to complete the trade.
November 30, 1987: Granted Free Agency.
December 9, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.
November 5, 1990: Granted Free Agency.
February 15, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Montreal Expos.
October 28, 1991: Granted Free Agency.
2B IAN KINSLER, BOSTON RED SOX, 2018
Kinsler in the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 games, 1-10, RBI, 3 strikeouts
MLB BACKGROUND
June 5, 2000: Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 29th round of the 2000 amateur draft, but did not sign and played with Central Arizona College instead.
June 5, 2001: Drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 26th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but did not sign opting to play at Arizona State instead before transferring to Missouri.
June 3, 2003: Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 17th round of the 2003 amateur draft. Signed June 24, 2003.
November 20, 2013: Traded by the Rangers to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder and cash.
December 13, 2017: Traded by the Tigers to the Los Angeles Angels for Wilkel Hernandez (minors) and Troy Montgomery (minors).
July 30, 2018: Traded by the Angels with cash to the Boston Red Sox for Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez.
October 29, 2018: Granted Free Agency.
December 20, 2018: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Diego Padres.
December 20, 2019: Voluntarily retired from the Padres.
CF ALEK THOMAS, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS, 2023
Thomas in the 2023 World Series against the Texas Rangers: 5 games, 5-25, 2 runs, double, four strikeouts
MLB BACKGROUND
June 4, 2018: Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2nd round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Chicago. Signed June 12, 2018.
LF ALEX VERDUGO, NEW YORK YANKEES, 2024
MLB BACKGROUND
June 5, 2014: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2014 amateur draft. Signed June 10, 2014, less than a month after graduating from Sahuaro.
February 10, 2020: Traded by the Dodgers with Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to the Boston Red Sox for Mookie Betts, David Price and cash.
December 5, 2023: Traded by the Red Sox to the New York Yankees for Nicholas Judice (minors), Richard Fitts and Greg Weissert.
LHP ED VOSBERG, FLORIDA MARLINS, 1997
Vosberg in the 1997 World Series against the Cleveland Indians: 2 games, 0-0, 3 IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 2K
June 5, 1979: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 3rd round of the 1979 amateur draft, but did not sign opting to attend Arizona out of Salpointe.
June 7, 1982: Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round of the 1982 amateur draft, but did not sign opting stay at Arizona.
June 6, 1983: Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the 1983 amateur draft. Signed June 10, 1983.
December 13, 1988: Traded by the Padres to the Houston Astros for Dan Walters.
August 1, 1989: the Astros sent Vosberg to the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete an earlier deal made on July 22, 1989, when the Astros sent a player to be named later to the Dodgers for Javier Ortiz.
October 15, 1989: Granted Free Agency.
March 13, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Francisco Giants.
October 15, 1990: Granted Free Agency.
December 4, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels.
May 11, 1991: Released by the California Angels.
May 20, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Seattle Mariners.
July 10, 1991: Released by the Seattle Mariners.
March 17, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
October 15, 1993: Granted Free Agency.
December 3, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.
October 15, 1994: Granted Free Agency.
November 11, 1994: Signed as a Free Agent with the Athletics.
December 5, 1994: Drafted by the Dodgers from Athletics in the 1994 rule 5 draft.
April 24, 1995: Granted Free Agency.
April 26, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
August 12, 1997: Traded by the Rangers to the Florida Marlins for Rick Helling.
November 20, 1997: Traded by the Marlins to the San Diego Padres for Chris Clark (minors).
June 5, 1999: Released by the Padres.
June 10, 1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
October 15, 1999: Granted Free Agency.
November 17, 1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the Colorado Rockies.
June 28, 2000: Sent to the Philadelphia Phillies by the Rockies as part of a conditional deal.
October 12, 2000: Granted Free Agency.
December 20, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Phillies.
October 8, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
February 19, 2002: Signed as a Free Agent with the Montreal Expos.
April 18, 2002: Released by the Montreal Expos.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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