Ed Vosberg
THREE OF A KIND by Todd Newville |
When baseball fans think of some of the greats of the game, names like Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose or Nolan Ryan are more likely to pop into their heads rather than the name of a journeyman lefthander who has pitched sparingly for six different teams during his major league career.
However, Vosberg holds down a very unique and special distinction in the history of baseball - one that has never been equaled and may never be equaled by any other baseball player.
Vosberg, 38, is the only person to ever play in a Little League World Series, the College World Series, and the World Series in his baseball career. Not even Babe Ruth could match that feat.
Just call Vosberg a man of opportunity.
The College World Series began in 1947 while the major league's World Series started in 1903. With 382 schools playing Division I collegiate baseball throughout the United States in 2000, the odds of playing in Omaha, Neb., last June at Rosenblatt Stadium were very slim for most. And, with 30 current major league teams vying each year to make it all the way into October, prognosticators in April are hard pressed to predict which two teams will be the lucky ones to play for the world championship.
The Little League World Series was first played in 1947. Little League baseball itself was founded in 1939 by a gentleman named Carl Stotz. When you consider that to play in the Little League World Series every August in Williamsport, Pa., you have to compete with the champions from over 7,400 different leagues - encompassing over 2.5 million players competing on nearly 40,000 different teams in 103 countries - well, the odds of you getting to play on ABC television are about as slim as finding a needle in a giant haystack the size of Texas.
Vosberg, who is 6-feet-1 and 190 pounds, has pitched in the major leagues off and on since 1986. He began his career with the San Diego Padres. He has also twirled for the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A's, the Texas Rangers, and (in 2000) the Philadelphia Phillies. He even pitched in Italy in 1992.
In 1997, Vosberg was a member of the world champion Florida Marlins who defeated the Cleveland Indians in that year's World Series. Before that, Vosberg's biggest accomplishment on a diamond occurred while pitching in college.
He pitched for the University of Arizona's 1980 national champions coached by Jerry Kindall. The Wildcats, who were 45-21-1 that season, went 3-0 in the West Regional to qualify for the College World Series.
Arizona lost to St. John's 6-1 in the opening game at Omaha. But, the Wildcats fought their way back through the loser's bracket - defeating Florida State 5-3, Michigan 8-0, Hawaii 6-4 in 11 innings, and California 11-10.
In the championship game, Arizona again met Hawaii for the national title and won 5-3. The game was played in front of a then-record crowd of 15,276 as the Wildcats' left fielder Terry Francona was named the most outstanding player of the CWS.
In 1973, Vosberg played in his "first" World Series. He played for a team from Tucson, Ariz., that reached the Little League World Series in Williamsport. They didn't win it; a team from Tainan-Chinese Taipei were the victors.
But, Vosberg had already laid down the first of three chapters in his baseball career. And, by playing in the Little League World Series that year, perhaps he had completed the toughest tier of the triumvirate to achieve.
Vosberg is certainly not unique in the fact that he played in the Little League World Series. There have been several other major leaguers who have played (and starred) in the annual affair. Lloyd McClendon, for one, can brag that he once hit five home runs - yes, FIVE home runs - in five at-bats for Gary, Ind., in the 1971 Little League World Series. McClendon, now a hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates, went on to play for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and the Bucs.
Former Baltimore first baseman Boog Powell, who won the 1970 American League MVP award with the Orioles and hit 339 career home runs, played in the 1954 Little League World Series for Lakeland, Fla. One of his opponents that year in Williamsport was second baseman Ken Hubbs, who eventually won the 1962 National League Rookie of the Year award with the Cubs. Hubbs played for the Little League team from Colton, Calif., in 54.
Rick Wise, a former major league all-star who pitched for the Phillies, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, and Padres in a distinguished 17-year career, played in the 1958 Little League World Series for Portland, Ore. Third baseman Charlie Hayes, formerly with Philadelphia and the New York Yankees, appeared in the 1977 Little League World Series for Hattiesburg, Miss.
Current major league stars Gary Sheffield of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Derek Bell of the New York Mets were teammates in the 1980 Little League World Series for the Belmont Heights team from Tampa, Fla. They lost 4-3 to the squad from Chinese Taipei in the title game.
Other current major leaguers like catchers Dan Wilson (1981) of the Seattle Mariners and Jason Varitek (1984) of the Boston Red Sox and pitcher Wilson Alvarez (1982) of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays also played in the Little League World Series.
If the Bosox were to make it to the World Series anytime soon, Varitek would join Vosberg as the only two men to ever play in all three World Series. Varitek, an All-American catcher for Georgia Tech, was behind the plate when the Yellow Jackets lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the national championship game of the 1994 College World Series.
For now, Vosberg remains the only one to play for all the marbles at all three levels of play. And, its a distinction that Vosberg can certainly be proud of - even if he isnt a household name.
EDITOR'S NOTE: When this story was originally written in October 2001, Vosberg was the only man to play in the Little League World Series, College World Series, and the World Series. Since then, catcher Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox has joined Vosberg in this "exclusive" club. Varitek and the Bosox, of course, beat the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight games to win the 2004 World Series - their first world championship in 86 years.
LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES
(Through 2005)
Wilson Alvarez (1982)
Jim Barbieri (1954)*
Jason Bay (1990)
Derek Bell (1980-81)*
Larvell Blanks (1962)
Jim Brower (1985)
Sean Burroughs (1992-93)
Chen Chin-Feng (1990)
Bill Connors (1954)
Charlie Hayes (1977)*
Erik Johnson (1978)
Ken Hubbs (1954)
Keith Lampard (1958)
Carney Lansford (1969)*
Vance Lovelace (1975)
Jason Marquis (1991)*
Lloyd McClendon (1971)
Bobby Mitchell (1967)
Jim Pankovits (1968)
Marc Pisciotta (1983)
Boog Powell (1954)*
Guillermo Quiroz (1994)
Gary Sheffield (1980)*
Carl Taylor (1954)
Hector Torres (1958)
Jason Varitek (1984)#
Dave Veres (1978)
Ed Vosberg (1973)#
Dan Wilson (1981)
Rick Wise (1958)*
* = Players who played in Little League World Series and Major League World Series.
# = Players to play in Little League World Series, College World Series, and Major League World Series.
For more information about Little League baseball, please go to
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL.
For more information about college baseball, please go to
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF NCAA BASEBALL.
