SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball program’s excellence as a pathway to the pros was on display again in 2023, as a total of 35 former Gauchos were on a professional baseball roster as either a player or coach this summer, with seven of them in the major leagues. Two of those men — Baltimore pitcher Dillon Tate and Miami manager Skip Schumaker — saw their clubs make long-awaited returns to the Major League Baseball postseason, while another helped his squad make a run all the way to the World Series: Arizona left-handed pitcher Kyle Nelson. Another former Gaucho reached the Fall Classic opposite Nelson, with Michael Young finally winning a ring for the Rangers as a special assistant. Schumaker was also rewarded for his work this season, being named National League Manager of the Year for guiding the Marlins back to October baseball.
Tate, Schumaker, Nelson and Young were four of nine UC Santa Barbara Baseball alumni who helped their clubs, either on the field or in the front office, to play baseball into October. Joining them were Milwaukee General Manager Max Arnold, Los Angeles Dodgers Assistant GM Damon Jones and scout Tom Myers and Toronto Blue Jays Research Analyst Maxine Wang.
Shane Bieber — Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber made 21 starts in his sixth season with Cleveland, posting a 6-6 record and 3.80 ERA on the season. He had his best start of the year on June 11 against the Houston Astros, pitching seven shutout innings with a season-high nine K’s, allowing just three hits. Bieber also struck out nine batters on May 9 in another seven-shutout-inning performance against the Tigers. He made his final start of the year on September 27, forming an inter-league tandem with Colorado’s Noah Davis of former Gauchos to start an MLB game on the mound on the same day.
Noah Davis — Colorado Rockies: When Davis joined Bieber as the second of two UC Santa Barbara pitchers to start an MLB game on the same day, it was his sixth and final start in the big leagues in 2023. The righty bounced between the Majors and Triple-A Albuquerque in 2023, making a total of eight appearances with the Rockies and 14 starts with the Isotopes. He struck out 26 batters in the big leagues this year, highlighted by a five-inning, five-K, scoreless outing in his first Major League start, at Seattle on April 16.
Kyle Nelson — Arizona Diamondbacks: In his fourth year in the majors, Nelson had the busiest season of his career, pitching 56 innings over 68 regular-season games for the D-Backs. The lefty reliever struck out 67 batters in those 56 innings, walking just 14. Nelson and the Diamondbacks started the season hot, leading the NL West at the All-Star Break, and earned a Wild Card spot in the postseason. They swept the Brewers and Dodgers to reach the NLCS, where Nelson pitched two innings across two games, earning a hold in Arizona’s Game 4 win. He became only the fifth Gaucho to appear in the World Series and just the second to pitch in the Fall Classic (joining Barry Zito in 2012). Nelson pitched three innings over three games, although Arizona would go on to lose the series in five.
Skip Schumaker — Miami Marlins: In his first year as manager, Schumaker led the Marlins to their best record in over a decade and an NL Wild Card spot, earning National League Manager of the Year honors for doing so. Under Schumaker, Miami went 84-78, finishing over .500 for the first time since the shortened 2020 season, the franchise’s best record since 2009 and their fifth-best winning percentage of all time. For his role in Miami’s remarkable season, Schumaker became just the eighth manager in MLB history to win AL or NL Manager of the Year in their first season on the job.
Dillon Tate — Baltimore Orioles: An Oriole since 2019, the former first-round pick was sidelined for the 2023 campaign with an injury, but watched his team rocket to a new level of success. Baltimore had its first 100-win season since 1980, claiming the AL East Title for the first time since 2014 and returning to the postseason as the American League’s top seed.
Chris Valaika — Cleveland Guardians: After a four-year MLB career as a player, Valaika has turned to coaching, finishing his second season as the Guardians’ hitting coach. Under Valaika, Cleveland ranked seventh in Major League Baseball for both hits and batting average, hitting more doubles than all but three other teams. Cleveland also finished among the top 10 teams in the majors for on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).
Andrew Vasquez — Detroit Tigers: Vasquez started his season with the Phillies, racking up a 2.27 ERA in 30 games out of Philadelphia’s bullpen. He joined the Tigers on August 4, pitching in 12 games before the end of the season. Vasquez went 2-1 out of the bullpen on the year, adding a pair of holds as a Tiger.
