Former OSU centerfielder and leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury hit .280 during the regular season for the Boston Red Sox.

Former Beaver baseball players end 2008 season

Jacoby Ellsbury's Boston Red Sox were knocked off by Tampa Bay in playoffs

By: Casey Grogan

Posted: 10/22/08

The season is all over for former Beaver outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury as the Red Sox season has come to an end.

The Tampa Bay Rays knocked Ellsbury and the Sox out of the race to the World Series and now it is onto the off-season. On the blog Ellsbury writes through MLBlogs.com, the Madras native said, "it's definitely not a good feeling, but you can't dwell on it. Just get better because of it and make another run at it next year."

Another former Beaver who spent the season in the Major Leagues is catcher Jamie Burke of the Seattle Mariners. On a team with a strong starting catcher and a top catching prospect, Burke only saw time in 48 games with Seattle. Burke hit .261 with one home run on the year.

Burke even saw time on the mound for the Mariners in a tie game with the Detroit Tigers. In the 15th inning and the bullpen running thin, Burke stepped up and retired three of the four hitters he faced. Burke, however, gave up a leadoff double which led to the game-winning run for Detroit.

Former Beaver infielder Brian Barden had a big year with the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. His bronze medal that he and the United States baseball team won in the Beijing Olympics highlighted Barden's year. Barden finished the season hitting .285 in 103 games for the Redbirds before being called up to the St. Louis Cardinals roster late in the season.

One of the main cogs that helped lead OSU to a College World Series appearance in 2005 played the 2008 season with the Carolina Mudcats, as first baseman Andy Jenkins hit eight home runs on the season. Playing in the Double-A Southern League, Jenkins hit .259 in 110 games for the Florida Marlins farm team.

On the mound, former OSU pitcher Kyle Aselton finished his year in the Double-A Eastern League with an 8-6 record in 14 starts. Aselton, from Chechalis, Wash., had a 4.24 ERA for the New Britain Rock Cats, a member of the Minnesota Twins farm system.

For the second season in a row, former Beaver Aaron Mathews patrolled the outfield for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Toronto Blue Jays farmhand hit .296 with six home runs before getting injured at the tail end of the season.

Another member of the Seattle Mariners organization comes in the form of right-handed pitcher Andrew Baldwin. In Tripe-A Tacoma, Baldwin racked up a 10-5 record for the Rainiers.

Baldwin is currently pitching in the Winter Liga Venezuela Beisbol Professional, a winter league associated with Major League Baseball. As a starter for the Cardenales de Lara, Baldwin is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

Nathan Pendley, a former lefty for OSU, split time between the Arizona League Giants and the Augusta GreenJackets in the San Francisco Giants organization. Pendley threw in only 13 games on the season, registering 15.2 innings.

After an 11-8 performance with the San Antonio Missions, pitcher Mike Ekstrom has found himself in the Arizona Fall League pitching for the Peoria Saguaros. Ekstrom has thrown in three games and compiled a 4.50 ERA.

Former infielder Chris Kunda spent the majority of his season with the Tampa Yankees. Kunda only played in 45 games hitting for a .145 average.

Oregon State's number one pitcher for the 2005 campaign, Dallas Buck, spent his season playing with three teams in two organizations after rehabbing an arm injury. Buck began with the South Bend Silver Hawks going 1-4 with a 3.94 ERA. The Newberg native moved up to play with the Visalia Oaks and took the loss in his only game with the Oaks before being traded.

Buck was part of a deal that sent Major League outfielder Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Leaving the Diamondbacks organization, Buck made his way to Sarasota, Fla. where he pitched in three games as a starter for the Sarasota Reds. Buck finished 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA for the Reds.