Now that the Red Sox have finished off the Dodgers in “only” five games, let’s take a quick look at the eight former Valley Leaguers who appeared in the 2018 Major League playoffs…. even though it’s not very pretty.

  • Daniel Murphy (Luray 2004-05) appeared in the Wild Card game with the Cubs, and went 0-4 with a walk and strikeout.
  • Tommy La Stella (Haymarket 2011) also appeared in the WC game with the Cubs, and went 0-1.
  • Yonder Alonso (Luray 2006) played in two playoff games with the Indians. He went 0-6 with 4 strikeouts.
  • Jason Kipnis (Covington 2006-07) played in three games with the Indians, and went 1-9 with 6 K’s.
  • Brett Gardner (New Market 2003-04) played in four games with the Yankees. He went 0-8, with 1 run, 1 RBI, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout.
  • Tyler White (Haymarket 2010) played in 8 games with the Astros, going 3-13, with a double, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts.
  • Erik Kratz (Waynesboro 2000, Harrisonburg 2001) was “the” story of the postseason. Seemingly enjoying every second he was out there, Erik played in 9 games for the Brewers, and went 7-24, with 2 runs, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts. His college friends showed up to the NLCS in his old jerseys one night, which ended up being a national story.
  • The only pitcher who appeared in the playoffs is Houston’s Will Harris (Staunton 2003), who gave up one run, one hit, and one walk in his one inning pitched.

Well, for the hitters, that’s a combined 11-65, which comes out to a .169 batting average. No one played in the World Series, but Boston’s Tyler Thornburg (Winchester 2008) and Robby Scott (Covington 2010) will most likely get rings!

Name Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB Avg OBP SLG OPS
Daniel Murphy Chi 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.000 0.200 0.000 0.200
Tommy La Stella Chi 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Yonder Alonso Cle 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Jason Kipnis Cle 3 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0.111 0.111 0.111 0.222
Brett Gardner NYY 4 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.250
Tyler White Hous 8 13 0 3 1 0 0 0 3 7 0 0.231 0.444 0.308 0.752
Erik Kratz Milw 9 24 2 7 2 0 0 3 1 6 0 0.292 0.346 0.375 0.721
28 65 3 11 3 0 0 4 8 25 0 0.169
Name Team W L G GS Sv IP H R ER BB K ERA WHIP BB/9 K/9
Will Harris Hous 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 9.00 2.000 9.00 0.00
Kratz