For sports fans, July always seems to be one of the worst months of the year.
After the NBA and NHL close out their seasons in June, there simply isn’t a lot out there to get your heart racing in the heat of the summer.
The NFL news wire seems stagnant as players take their final vacations before training camp, NASCAR drivers are just warming up early in their season and college sports remain as dead as can be.
This year was supposed to be the exception to the rule. However, one swift kick from Ghana last Saturday ruined the lofty dreams of American sports fans (once again), knocking the U.S. men’s national team out of competition at the World Cup in South Africa.
But not all is lost. Behind the veil of dusty feature stories displayed on ESPN SportsCenter, there still is baseball.
And although the Hokies fell weeks ago in the College World Series, there still are Hokies playing it.
Here’s a rundown of what some of Tech’s finest are doing to make their names known in the at the professional level of America’s pastime.
JOE SAUNDERS, LEFT-HANDED PITCHER, LOS ANGELES ANGELS
After making his Major League debut in 2005, Joe Saunders, from Springfield, Va., spent three seasons working out his kinks in sporadic appearances on the hill for the Los Angeles Angels.
When he successfully improved his earned run average in every season up until 2008, the former Hokie earned a full-time position in the Angels’ rotation.
In his first year of full-duty, Saunders burst onto the big league scene, going 17-7 in 31 starts and shattering his career-high by over a point, recording a 3.41 ERA.
The following year, Saunders had another solid season, finishing 16-7 in 31 starts. With above-average seasons under his belt at the highest of levels, it was safe to say he had arrived.
This season, though, things have been a little rough for the Tech alumnus.
In 16 starts this year, Saunders is 6-8 with an earned run average just below five at 4.88. In slighty more than half of the appearances he had in 2008, he’s almost matched his mark of 53 walks that year, with 41 charitable contributions this season.
Starting his season 1-5 with a 7.04 ERA certainly didn’t help his cause and although he has picked it up, he hasn’t been nearly as reliable as he once was.
Thankfully, Saunders has begun to show signs of life. On June 27, he struck out a season-high eight batters in seven innings, defeating the Colorado Rockies 4-2. The former All-Star was pleased with his outing.
“It’s a good start to build off of,” Saunders told reporters after the game. “Everybody knows I haven’t been pitching that well this year.”
The Angels currently sit in second-place in the American League West and Saunders’ arm will be needed down the stretch.
KEVIN BARKER, FIRST BASEMAN, ROJOS DEL AGUILA DE VERACRUZ
If you talk about names you haven’t heard in a long time, Kevin Barker, of Bristol, Va., is just that.
After being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third round of the 1996 amateur draft, the former Hokie has stepped in front of a Major League pitcher just 323 times in 15 years — but he’s still trucking.
This season, the 34-year-old is playing in Boca del Rio, Mexico, in the Class AAA Mexican League. There, he’s leading his team in hitting, with a .310 average through 64 games and is also tied for third on the team in home runs and runs batted in, with 10 and 40, respectively.
It’s been a tough road for Barker, whose most recent appearance on the big stage was last year with the Cincinnati Reds.
Spending 12 seasons on a AAA squad for the Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Reds, the former Hokie has been close, but has rarely been given the opportunity at the highest level.
Time will tell if this former Hokie. Time, however, can be a 34-year-old’s worst enemy in professional sports.
WYATT TOREGAS, CATCHER, CLEVELAND INDIANS
Another former Hokie struggling to find his place with a Major League organization is Wyatt Toregas, of Fairfax.
Toregas was drafted in the 24th round of the 2004 amateur draft and after a long struggle in the minors, received his chance in the big leagues last season, appearing in 19 games for the Cleveland Indians.
In those appearances, Toregas hit a poor .176 at the dish and drove in just nine runs. Shortly thereafter, he was sent back down to the minors for maintenance.
Currently, the former Hokie is receiving time with the Indians’ AA affiliate, the Akron Aeros, but things aren’t going well.
After hitting .375 at the single A level to begin the year, Toregas was called up to Akron for his excellent production, but he hasn’t met expectations.
In Akron, he is hitting just .203 this season and although the Indians aren’t the most successful franchise in the world, that’s far from acceptable and far from what he needs to advance with the club.
Toregas will need to step it up and hope whoever’s behind the plate ahead of him in the organization falters if he wants another chance at the big bucks.
Saunders, Barker, and Toregas remain the some of the only Hokies in recent history to receive playing time at the highest level of the game.
That may change soon, as eight Tech players were selected in May’s draft
For those fresh faces, a long road stands between now and consistent time in the Majors. Just ask Kevin Barker.