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Congratulations to former COS players Jack
Aker, Daryl Patterson,Jim
Wohlford, Brad Mills, Bob Ojeda, Steve Stroughter, Johnny Estrada, and Josh Labanderia for playing
Major League Baseball. We are very proud of each you! |
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Jack Aker
Jackie Delane Aker
Signed by the
Kansas
City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1960.
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Daryl Patterson
Daryl Alan Patterson
Signed by the
Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1964
Patterson had seven saves and a 2.12
ERA in relief for the 1968 World Champion Tigers. A 4.85 ERA in 1970
signaled his decline, but ironically he finished the season 7-1.
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Jim Wohlford
James Eugene Wohlford
Drafted by the
Kansas City Royals in the 3rd round of the 1970 amateur draft
(Secondary Phase).
Wohlfor was a Topps junior college
All-American in 1970. Two years later he was American Association rookie
of the year while playing second base for Omaha. A line-drive hitter,
Wohlford displayed good speed in the outfield and on the basepaths for
the Royals. After departing Kansas City, he spent a decade as an extra
outfielder and pinch hitter, reaching the .300 plateau in 1984. |
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Brad Mills
James Bradley Mills
Drafted by the
Montreal Expos in the 17th round of the 1979 amateur draft.
Brad is in his second year as the Boston
Red Sox bench coach.Before the
2004 season, Mills was named to the job reuniting with
Red Sox manager Terry Francona, his former teammate and
roommate at the University of Arizona. Mills and
Francona also played together with the Montreal Expos
(1981-83), and Mills served as Francona's first base
coach with the Philadelphia Phillies (1997-2000). Mills,
who served as an advance scout for the Chicago Cubs,
also managed eleven season in the minors in the Cubs,
Rockies and Dodgers organizations (1987-2002), and
coached with the Expos in 2003.
Mills reached the major leagues in
1980 and went on to hit a .256 batting average with one
home run and 12 RBI in 106 games played for the Expos
(1980-83). He divided his time between Triple-A and the
majors in each of those seasons, and sustained a right
knee injury that ended his playing career at the age of
29. A left handed hitter and primarily a third baseman,
he also saw time at first base and second.
Fact:
- Mills became forever a part of
major league history, when in 1983 he was the Nolan
Ryan's 3,509th career strikeout victim, lifting Ryan
past Walter Johnson as all-time strikeout leader.
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Steve Stroughter
Stephen Lewis Stroughter
Drafted by the
San
Francisco Giants in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1971 amateur
draft (Secondary Phase Active).
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Bob Ojeda
Robert Michael Ojeda
Signed by the
Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1978
1986 - Member of New York Mets World Series championship team.
Arguably the Mets' ace in 1986, Ojeda sparkled out of the shadow of
Fenway's Green Monster, and led the staff in victories during the team's
championship run. He went 18-5 to lead the National League in winning
percentage in 1986, and his 2.57 ERA was second in the league. He won
Game Two of the NLCS 5-1, and although he gave up three runs in the
first five innings of Game Six, the Mets went on to win the dramatic
contest in 16 innings. In the World Series, he beat his old team at
Fenway in Game Three after the Red Sox had taken the first two games
from the Mets. It started New York's turnaround; they became the first
team ever to win the Series after losing the first two games at home. He
got a no-decision in the Mets' memorable comeback in Game Six, yielding
two runs in six innings.
After a hiatus from baseball, Ojeda came back in 2001 as the pitching
coach for the Mets' Single-A team Brooklyn Cyclones, who had also hired
former teammate Howard Johnson as the hitting coach.
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Johnny Estrada
Johnny Pulado Estrada
Drafted by the
Philadelphia Phillies in the 17th round of the 1997 amateur draft.
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In his first full big-league season, posted career highs in
nearly every offensive category...Earned his first career
Silver Slugger Award in a vote of National League managers
and coaches...Played in 134 games (133 at catcher) and
batted .314 with nine home runs and 76 RBI...Became just the
second switch-hitting catcher since 1923 (Ted Simmons) to
hit better than .300 (min. 100 games caught)...Johnny's .314
mark is the fourth-best batting average ever by a
switch-hitting catcher...His .351 road batting average
ranked third in the NL...Ranked fifth in the NL with a .338
(47-for-139) batting average with runners in scoring
position...Batted .329 vs. RHP - sixth in the NL...Had 37
multi-hit games, including 15 games with three or more
hits...Had a team-high 45 two-out RBI...Was the Braves' lone
All-Star representative. Made his first career AS appearance
at Houston (0-for-2)...Had career bests with five hits (in
five ABs) and five RBI on 5/15 at MIL. Also had a Braves
season-high nine total bases in the game...Went 4-for-4 with
two RBI 6/23 at FLA...Went 4-for-4 with a HR on 8/19 at
LA...Clubbed his career-high ninth homer with a three-run
shot on 9/10 vs. MON...Was Named to the MLB All-Star squad
that traveled to Japan in November. Johnny played in five of
the eight games on the tour and went 1-for-16 (.063) with a
homer. 2004 POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Division Series (Hou.):
Batted .353 (6-for-17) with two homers and four RBI in five
games...Clubbed his first career postseason homer off
Brandon Backe in Game 3...Also homered in Game 5.
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Currently with the Washington Nationals.
MLB Web Link
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Josh Labandeira
John Joshua Labandeira
Drafted by the
Montreal Expos in the 6th round of the 2001 amateur draft.
Currently with the Durham Bulls AAA, parent club Tampa Bay.
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