MCC has a piece of Major League Baseball history
With the major league baseball playoffs getting underway it seems to be an appropriate time to take a look at Mesa's contributions to the sport.
A lot of people would probably be stunned to find out that 23 MCC alumni have reached the major leagues over the years and that group has played a total of 150 seasons.
In fact, seven of those 23 played at least ten years in the majors.
The longest tenured was Dave Collins who played 16 years in the big leagues with seven different clubs.
Close behind is Hubie Brooks whose 15-year career spanned the Mets, Expos (remember them), Dodgers, Angels and Royals.
While there are no Hall of Famers on the list, several had a chance to distinguish themselves admirably.
Ten of the 23 had an opportunity to reach the post season, and five own World Series championship rings.
Mike Devereaux was the NLCS Most Valuable Player for the Atlanta Braves in 1995 as they knocked off Cincinnati to earn a trip to the World Series. Deveraux hit .308 with a double, home run and five RBIs to win the award. Atlanta then beat Cleveland for the series title.
Mickey Hatcher cemented himself in Los Angeles Dodgers' history. Filling in for the injured Kirk Gibson in LA's last championship in 1988, Hatcher hit .368 (7-19) with two home runs, driving in five as the Dodgers beat Oakland.
Pat Darcy was a member of the 1975 Big Red Machine which knocked off the Boston Red Sox for the first of their two consecutive titles.
Ken Phelps was a member of the 1989 Oakland A's which topped the San Francisco Giants in the cross-bay Earthquake series that was interrupted by a major quake.
Finally, Albie Lopez has the distinction of being on the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks team that took down the New York Yankees in the D-Backs' only series championship.
Marty Barrett didn't earn a series ring in 1986, but not a lack of trying on his part. He hit .433 (13-30) with a pair of doubles and four RBIs and was the ALCS MVP. However, the Red Sox came up just short of the New York Mets in the series.
Three others had World Series championships of another kind. They were members of MCC's three straight national championship squads. Jim Otten, who went on to play with the White Sox and Cardinals, was part of the first two championship teams in 1970 and 1971, while Collins and Bob Pate, who played two years for Montreal, led Mesa to the 1972 crown.
Two former T-Birds have played in the MLB All-Sta Game twice.
Shea Hillenbrand was the starting third baseman for the American League while playing for Boston and was also an All-Star in 2005 while with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Brooks was a part of the 1986 and 1987 games representing Montreal.
All in all, not bad for a little two-year school in Mesa, Arizona.
Complete list of MCC major leaguers.
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