BATON ROUGE — Eight former LSU players appear on Major League Baseball rosters as the 2008 MLB season begins this week.
The active players include right-handed pitcher Paul Byrd (Cleveland), outfielder Brad Hawpe (Colorado), infielder Aaron Hill (Toronto), right-handed pitcher Russ Springer (St. Louis), infielder Ryan Theriot (Chicago Cubs), infielder Mike Fontenot (Chicago Cubs), left-handed pitcher Brian Tallet (Toronto) and right-handed pitcher Brian Wilson (San Francisco).
Springer, who made his major league debut in 1992 with the New York Yankees, is a 16-season MLB veteran.
Byrd, a 1990 all-American at LSU, is entering his 13th season in the big leagues and has posted 97 career wins. He recorded victories for Cleveland over the Yankees and Red Sox during the 2007 postseason. The Indians won the ’07 American League Central Division title and were one victory shy of advancing to the World Series.
Tallet begins his sixth MLB season this spring while Hawpe, who helped lead Colorado to the 2007 National League pennant, is entering his fifth year with the Rockies.
Theriot, the Cubs’ starting shortstop, and Fontenot are entering their fourth and third seasons, respectively, with the Cubs. They were integral parts of Chicago’s drive to the 2007 NL Central Division title.
Hill is in his fourth season with the Blue Jays and Wilson begins his third season with the Giants.
Fourteen former Tigers appeared on major league rosters during the 2007 season. LSU has produced 41 MLB players since 1985, including 22 pitchers and 19 position players.
The Tigers have had at least one former player make his MLB debut in each of the past 17 seasons (1991-2007).