NECBL Alums Garcia, Pollock, Beliveau Named to Team USA
By Don Leypoldt
USA Baseball announced its 2011 World Cup/Pan Am Team roster last week. Three members of the National team- 2B Drew Garcia, OF A.J. Pollock and LHP Jeff Beliveau- played in the NECBL as collegians.
The IBAF Baseball World Cup will be held in Panama City from October 2nd to the 15th. Team USA has claimed the last two World Cups and will be on a quest for a three-peat. Immediately afterward, Team USA will travel to the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. USA, the defending silver medalists from the 2007 Pan Am Games, will spend October 20th to 25th trying to de-throne reigning champion Cuba.
The U.S. roster features 24 players not currently on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters. Three of those names are very familiar to NECBL fans.
Drew Garcia played second base for the 2005 and 2006 Manchester Silkworms (now Laconia Muskrats.) As a freshman at UC-Riverside, Garcia made the 2005 NECBL All-Star team thanks to a season where he hit .279 with eight doubles. The switch-hitting Garcia made just four errors in 30 games with Manchester the next summer.
The White Sox selected Garcia in the 21st round of the 2008 Draft. The El Cajon, CA native was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte in early May where he was their second youngest position player. Garcia banged out 34 extra base hits in 104 games for Charlotte this season.
A.J. Pollock’s .348 batting average ranked fifth in the NECBL in 2007. The Vermont Mountaineer slammed 15 doubles, stole 13 bases and struck out just eight times en route to an All-Star summer. The Notre Dame product from Hebron, CT was chosen by the Diamondbacks in the first round of the 2009 draft.
Pollock, who completed the year in Double-A Mobile, earned Southern League All-Star honors this year. He led the League in doubles (41) and steals (36) while helping Mobile capture the Southern League championship.
Jeff Beliveau appeared in seven games for the 2006 Newport Gulls, starting in four of them. The lefty went 2-0 and struck out 16 in 21.2 innings during his time at Cardines Field. Beliveau was selected by the Cubs three rounds before Garcia.
The Florida Atlantic student and Johnson, RI native thrived in 2010 when he switched to a bullpen-only role, posting a 2.66 ERA between Low-A and High-A. This season, between High-A Dayton and Double-A Tennessee, Beliveau struck out 89 batters in 74 innings. He saved five games to go with his 1.57 ERA.
The following is excerpted from Team USA’s press release on the roster announcement:
“The Chicago White Sox led all Major League clubs with three players from its farm system named to the team. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers each placed two players on the club, and the remaining players each came from one of 11 other big league organizations.
"We are faced with a very unique situation this fall with two major tournaments on the schedule," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. "We feel like we have assembled a strong team of both seasoned veterans and young players who are excited to represent their country. This will be the first time our professional team will have the opportunity to bring home two gold medals, and we look forward to taking on that challenge."
Ernie Young will manage the team in Panama and Mexico, and he will be joined on the coaching staff by pitching coach Kirk Champion, hitting coach Leon Durham, and assistant coaches Jay Bell and Roly de Armas. Only assistant coach Carlos Tosca (bench coach, Atlanta Braves) does not return from the 2010 Pan American Qualifying Team staff which helped lead the U.S. to a tie for third place and qualify Team USA for both of the upcoming October events.
The Pan Am Team will first gather in Cary, N.C., at the USA Baseball National Training Complex where it will train from Sept. 27-29. The U.S. will have one workout on Sept. 27, followed by the first of three exhibitions against the Canadian World Cup/Pan Am Team. The U.S. will then depart for Panama City, Panama, for the IBAF Baseball World Cup where it will look to win its third straight title. Team USA has defeated Cuba in the gold medal game of each of the last two World Cup finals. First round action kicks off on Oct. 2, against Japan at Rod Carew Stadium.
At the conclusion of the World Cup on Oct. 15, the U.S. will travel to Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, for the Pan American Games baseball competition. Following two days of practice, Team USA begins play on Oct. 20, against the Dominican Republic. The U.S. last fielded a pro team at the Pan Am Games in 1999 -- USA Baseball's first club featuring professional athletes -- and will be looking for its first gold medal in the event since 1967 in Winnipeg. In the Rio de Janiero 2007 Pan Am Games, Team USA finished with a silver medal behind Cuba. The Cubans have won 12 of the 15 Pan Am baseball competitions ever played, including the last 10, dating back to 1971.
The 2010 Pan American Qualifying Team is the most recent professional team fielded by USA Baseball. The 2010 club finished the qualifier tied for third with a tournament-best 9-1 record, its lone loss coming against the Dominican Republic in the single elimination semifinals. The team was led by a collection of top Minor League prospects, including Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals, all of whom made their Major League debut in 2011. Additionally, eight other members of the 2010 team made their big league debuts this season, including Bruce Billings (COL/OAK), Tim Collins (KAN), Chase d'Arnaud (PIT), Danny Duffy (KAN), Todd Frazier (CIN), Jordan Pacheco (COL), Cord Phelps (CLE), and Everett Teaford (KAN).?”
