Last summer, Evan Longoria was the lone representative of the Dirtbags in the Cape Cod Baseball League, one of the most prestigious summer-ball leagues for college ballplayers.
But the Downey native was taken third overall in the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, leaving the Dirtbags without their top hitter.
Adding salt to the wound, the Dirtbags also lost eight seniors to graduation, leaving eight returning freshmen on the already young roster.
Despite a significant loss during the off-season, four Dirtbags were invited to play in the Cape league this summer. Left-handed pitcher Donnie Hume and infielder/outfielder Brandon Godfrey were teammates with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Shortstop Danny Espinosa and right-handed pitcher Vance Worley teamed-up with the Chatham A’s.
In only 15 at-bats, Godfrey had four hits and two RBI while walking twice to a .267 batting average. Godfrey had four hits and two RBI during the Red Sox’s playoff run to the championship where they beat the Wareham Gatemen 5-1 in the final game of the three-game series.
Hume was tied for second in wins for the Red Sox and even threw a complete-game shutout. Before becoming inactive with the Red Sox, Hume ended his season with a 4-0 record over 45 innings while posting a 2.40 ERA.
On the A’s squad that finished one game under .500 (21-22) and failed to make the playoffs, Worley went 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA over 35.2 innings pitched. Espinosa, the Dirtbag with the most potential, batted .252 in 44 games with 21 runs, two triples, one homerun and 15 RBI.
This summer, Espinosa showed offensive improvement compared to his LBSU statistics of last season. Defensively, Espinosa is better than his high-draft teammate of last season, but offensively there shouldn’t be a problem. The sophomore still has a few more years of eligibility.
Last year, Espinosa was one of Collegiate Base-ball’s Freshman All-Americans and the co-Big West Freshman of the Year.
The upside to a disillusioned off-season is that Longoria, the highest pick in Long Beach State history, was the only Dirtbag to play in the Cape last summer.
Last season, the Dirtbags played the second most difficult schedule in the nation and still managed to come within inches of a playoff berth with only one Cape Cod invitee on the roster. Next season, with a lighter schedule and four Cape Cod invitees, the Dirtbags should make a playoff run.