BATON ROUGE — Four former LSU players will participate in the Major League Baseball playoffs beginning this week with the American League and National League Division Series.
Infielders Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot of the Chicago Cubs, outfielder Brad Hawpe of the Colorado Rockies and right-handed pitcher Paul Byrd of the Cleveland Indians are the former Tigers scheduled to appear in the postseason.
Theriot and Fontenot ? teammates on LSU’s 2000 national championship team ? will be in Phoenix Wednesday night when the Cubs face the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of their NLDS.
Hawpe and the Rockies will take on the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia.
Byrd is scheduled to pitch Game 4 of Cleveland’s ALDS Monday night against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium.
Theriot, a Baton Rouge native, played in 148 games at shortstop for the Cubs during the regular season, batting .266 with 30 doubles, two triples, three homers, 80 runs and 28 stolen bases. Fontenot, a product of Slidell, La., played in 86 games at second base, batting .278 with 12 doubles, four triples, three homers, 29 RBI, 32 runs and five steals.
Hawpe, also a member of LSU’s 2000 NCAA title squad, batted .291 for the Rockies during the regular season with 33 doubles, four triples, 29 homers, 80 runs and 116 RBI. The Fort Worth, Texas native is second on the club in homers, RBI and slugging percentage (.539).
Byrd, a member of LSU’s 1991 national championship team, posted a 15-8 mark for the Indians this season. The Louisville, Ky. native worked 192.1 innings, recording a 4.59 ERA with 28 walks, 88 strikeouts and two complete-game shutouts.
Several other former LSU players completed successful regular seasons for their respective MLB clubs, including infielder Aaron Hill, who belted a team-high 47 doubles for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Right-hander Brian Wilson posted a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 relief innings for the San Francisco Giants, and 38-year-old right-hander Russ Springer, pitching in his 15th major league season, was 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA as a reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals.
A total of 14 former LSU players appeared on major league rosters during the 2007 regular season.