The 2020 MLB World Series matchup is set between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. Regardless of who lifts the Commissioner's Trophy at the end of this year's Fall Classic, a DII baseball player will be a world champion for a fourth year in a row. Here is who you need to keep an eye on:
Joey Wendle â West Chester (Pa.)
MLB team: Tampa Bay Rays
Wendle was a force in the West Chester lineup all four years (2009-12) he played with the Golden Rams. He batted above .300 every season and hit 15 or more doubles in three out of four years. The left-handed second baseman also manned the middle of the infield as a starter from the moment he joined the program. That consistency turned into stardom in his senior year, when Wendle hit .399 with 12 home runs and 59 runs batted in to lead West Chester to the DII baseball title.
He was drafted by Tampa Bay in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Wendle started 12 of the Rays' first 14 postseason games in 2020, contributing three multi-hit games. He is the only DII baseball alumnus starting in this year's World Series.
There are also four DII baseball players on taxi squads for the 2020 World Series.
- Trevor Richards, Drury â Tampa Bay Rays
- Scott Alexander, Sonoma State â Los Angeles Dodgers
- Josiah Gray, Le Moyne â Los Angeles Dodgers
- Luke Raley, Lake Erie â Los Angeles Dodgers
Recent DII baseball players to win the World Series
- Matt Adams, Slippery Rock â Washington Nationals (2019)
- Yan Gomes, Barry â Washington Nationals (2019)
- J.D. Martinez, Nova Southeastern â Boston Red Sox (2018)
- Evan Gattis, UT-Permian Basin â Houston Astros (2017)
