Tuesday’s winner is Steve Finley; he will next face the winner of this matchup.

Wednesday’s Match

Today we have Yonder Alonso (Luray 2006) against Brandon Inge (Waynesboro 1996)!

• Alonso was picked 7th overall in the 2008 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds out of Miami. He was blocked by Joey Votto, so the Reds eventually traded him to San Diego in late 2011, where he spent four seasons before being traded to the Oakland A’s in December, 2015. It as in Oakland where Alonso fulfilled some of the promise he had flashed before, when, in 2017, he had his best season, slashing .266/.365/.501 (split between Oakland and Seattle) in 451 at-bats, with 22 doubles and 28 home runs. He was named an All-Star that season. He’s bounced around a ton recently, spending 2018 with Cleveland, and 2019 with both the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies. He signed this offseason with the Atlantia Braves. In his ten years in the majors, Alonso has hit a total of .259/.332/.404, with 181 doubles, exactly 100 home runs, and 426 RBIs.
•  Inge, born in Lynchburg in 1977, went to school at VCU, and was eventually drafted in the 2nd round of the 1998 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. He made his MLB debut on April 3, 2001, and played in the majors until he was 36, in 2013. He spent almost his whole career with the Tigers, besides 74 games with Oakland in 2012, and 50 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. He was an All-Star in 2009, when he hit .230/.314/.406 in 562 at-bats, with 16 doubles, 27 home runs, and 84 RBIs. He was primarily a third baseman, but played in 376 games as a catcher, too, and also saw time in the outfield, along with a few games at first base, second base, and even one at shortstop. His career slash lines are .233/.301/.384 in just over 5,000 at-bats.

Vote by going to twitter.com/JohnATVL to vote! (Closes Thursday morning)

And by the way, if you want to read much, much more about the 2019 VBL season, be sure to check out the 2019 Valley League Annual!

Alonso

Inge