Travel Baseball Teams in Delaware

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MLB Players from Delaware

Delaware-born Paul Goldschmidt is one of the hottest players in pro baseball. He's not singlehandedly placing Delaware on the MLB map, though. Young pitcher Brett Oberholtzer is another rising star. In fact, USA Today places him #23 in their list of "100 Names You Need to Know" as you head into the 2014 baseball season (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/02/11/mlb-100-names-you-need-to-know-numbers-1-25/5411739/).

Zach Clark, who made his first MLB appearance in 2013, is doing some more time in the minors after seeing a little playing time in the big league.

There may be just a few currently active Delaware-born MLB players, but there have been more than 50 in the state's history!

Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt was born in 1987 in Wilmington. He played at The Woodlands High School. He also played elite ball in the summer as a teen. It was in this venue that he was first noticed by Trip Couch, who was then a Houston-area scout (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/diamondbacks/story/2011-08-30/Young-Goldschmidt-expected-to-power-Dbacks-for-years). Couch followed Goldschmidt’s successes in high school and college.

Goldschmidt played baseball at Texas State. He won the Southland Conference Hitter of the Year title two years running. In 2009, he was selected in the 8th round of the draft.

Class A Visalia and AA Mobile were among Goldschmidt's minor league teams. He made his Big League debut in 2011 at age 23. And from there, he has continued to climb. Goldschmidt was runner up for National League MVP in 2013.

Brett Oberholtzer

Brett Oberholtzer was born in 1989 in Christiana. He was a pitcher at William Penn High School and was named Louisville Slugger High School All-American. Later he played for the Raiders at Seminole Community College.

Oberholtzer was also selected in the 8th round of the draft, though one year earlier than Goldschmidt, in 2008. (He had turned down a draft pick a year earlier.)

Oberholtzer saw plenty of time in the minors; his teams included Rookie Danville, Double A Mississippi and Corpus Christie, and Triple A Oklahoma City (http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/players/cards/82724).

Although drafted by the Braves, it was the Astros that made Oberholtzer a major leaguer. He debuted in 2013 at age 23. He's also off to a strong start, having recently made the Astro's starting rotation.

Following in Oberholtzer's and Goldschmidt's Footsteps

Team sports can help youth develop their ball skills and get a start on their aspirations. Both Goldschmidt and Oberholzer worked hard to get where they are. "I realized if I wanted to play baseball as a career, I needed to outwork everyone else," Goldschmidt says. "That (means) not just with hard work but by working smart and being able to pick the brains of our coaching staff (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/diamondbacks/story/2011-08-30/Young-Goldschmidt-expected-to-power-Dbacks-for-years).

Oberholtzer has said "I take pride in my work ethic... when no one else is out there on the field, I love to look around and see I'm the only one out here (http://whattheheckbobby.blogspot.com/2012/07/an-interview-with-lhp-brett-oberholtzer.html)

Even those who aspire to follow in the footsteps of these Delaware baseball stars, though, need to take academics seriously. Goldschmidt believes in the value of a college education. Although he left school early, he completed a bachelor's degree through the University of Phoenix. As a rookie with the Diamondbacks, he was taking online classes -- and working on his laptop during chartered flights. "I didn't want that (college education) all to be a waste," he said. "I love playing baseball, and I want to do it for as long as they'll let me, but... you want to be prepared for whatever is coming forward in the future. A college degree can help (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article)."

Back at Texas State, Goldschmidt had been a regular on the dean's list!

Travel Baseball Teams in Delaware

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