When Brooks Conrad trotted out to third base for the Oakland Athletics last Monday, he became the 90th former ASU baseball player to crack a Major League roster.
So that got us thinking, who are the best ASU alumni that ever made it to the bigs? With such a rich history, it was tough to whittle down the list to five, but we gave it our best shot.
1. Barry Bonds
This was a no-brainer. Yeah, he's been rubbing his teammates the wrong way since arriving at ASU. Yeah, he's been convicted of steroid use in the court of public opinion, but Barry has always been a great baseball player.
He arrived at ASU in 1982 as a skinny kid with mediocre power. Had the San Francisco Giants given him $75,000 instead of $70,000 after drafting him in the second round, Bonds probably never would have played a game in the maroon and gold.
Believe it or not, Bonds was known for his defense during his freshman season at ASU in 1983. A left fielder with incredible range, Bonds hit .306 with 11 home runs and 54 runs batted in.
He sported similar stats (.360 average, 11 home runs and 55 RBI) his sophomore year and showed a penchant for hitting in the clutch.
ASU made it to Omaha for the College World Series for the second straight year, and Bonds stole the show. He notched a record-tying seven straight hits in the CWS at one point during the tournament.
His abrasive personality reared its ugly head his sophomore season, though. He was voted off the team by his teammates in a near-unanimous vote, but coach Jim Brock didn't have the stomach to can his star.
Bonds played his final ASU season in 1985, and showed the type of power that eventually made him today's home run king. He hit .368 with 23 home runs and 66 RBI.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with the sixth overall pick in the '85 draft, and Bonds made his debut the following season.
Such started one of the most prolific careers in baseball history. He was named the National League player of the decade in the 1990s by multiple publications.
The owner of seven Most Valuable Player awards, eight gold gloves, 14 all-star appearances, the all-time home run record (762) and the single-season home run record (73 in 2001), Bonds solidified himself as one of the greatest players of all time during his 22 seasons of service with Pittsburgh and San Francisco.
2. Reggie Jackson
Mr. October, as he's come to be known, spent just one season at ASU. It appears he played during the wrong year (1966), as the Sun Devils were crowned National Champs in 1965 and 1967.
No worries, though, he got his fair share of titles once making it to the Majors.
Drafted by the Kansas City Athletics with the second overall pick in 1966, Jackson made his professional debut a year later. He spent nine seasons with the Athletics dynasty that emerged in the 1970s after relocating to Oakland, Calif.
The Swingin' A's romped their way to three straight titles from 1972 to 1974, with a brash team full of personality. Even amongst the strong characters that filled Oakland's locker room during this time, no one had a bigger ego than Jackson.
He was eventually traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1976 before a memorable five-year stint with the New York Yankees.
Jackson's career-defining moment came in his first year in pinstripes.
It was game 6 of the 1977 World Series, and the Yankees held a 3-1 series lead. Jackson hit three consecutive home runs — all on the first pitch of the at-bat — to power the Yankees to the 8-4 victory and their first title in 15 years.
Jackson and the Yankees would repeat as champs in 1978, but lost to the Dodgers in 6 games in the 1981 World Series.
In all, Jackson amassed 563 home runs, 14-all star appearances, five rings and a Most Valuable Player Award (1973) during his career. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
3. Sal Bando
Bando, too, was part of those Swingin' A's that dominated during the 1970s. He played two seasons in Tempe (1964 and 1965), and was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player in 1965 — a year the Sun Devils won the national title.
He enjoyed a couple cups of coffee with the A's in 1966-67, but made the team for good in 1968. His best individual season came a year later, when he played in all 162 games and raked in 31 home runs and 113 RBI. He was named a captain for all three of the A's titles in the 1970s before he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 1977 season.
He would never top 17 home runs or 82 RBI in his five years with Milwaukee, but was later brought on as the team's general manager in 1991, a position he held until getting fired in 1999.
Bando was a four-time all-star, all of which came during his time with Oakland.
4. Rick Monday
His Sun Devil tenure was short but sweet — named College Player of the Year and a first-team All-American, Monday was key component to ASU's 1965 title run.
But he wouldn't return to Tempe to play with Reggie Jackson 1966.
Instead, he was made the first professional baseball player to ever get drafted.
Major League Baseball instituted its first-ever amateur draft in 1965, and with the No. 1 overall pick, the A's tabbed Monday.
He didn't enjoy great success during his time with the A's, never topping 14 home runs, 58 RBI or a .290 average. Not to mention his last year in Oakland was in 1971, just missing the A's trio of titles.
He was named an all-star twice and had his best individual year in 1976 with the Chicago Cubs. That year, Monday hit 32 home runs and drove in 77 runs to go along with his .272 batting average, and was a part of the Dodgers team that beat the Yankees in the 1981 World Series.
5. Dustin Pedroia
Without a doubt, Pedroia is the best current ASU player in the bigs. He played for the Sun Devils from 2002 to 2004 and posted a career .384 batting average while in college. Though he played almost exclusively at shortstop for ASU coach Pat Murphy, Pedroia broke into the Majors as a second baseman for the Boston Red Sox last year.
He made an instant impact, hitting .317 for the eventual World Series champs, en route to winning the 2007 Rookie of the Year Award.
Pedroia was also the starting second baseman for the American League in this year's all-star game.
Reach the reporter at: alex.espinoza@asu.edu.
