Our Professional Alumni
 Arizona Fall League |
Last season, Erik spent time with three separate Padres minor league teams. For most of the first half Erik helped lead the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm to the 1st-half regular season title for the Southern Division of the California League.
 Erik with the Storm in the visitors dugout at San Jose Muni. |
For the second consecutive year, Erik led all Padres minor league
pitchers in wins, posting an overall 14-3 record and a 3.52 ERA over
27 starts in 143.1 innings of work. Erik finished the season in the
top-4 in the organization in four categories: 1st in Wins (14), 2nd
in strikeouts (133), 2nd in AVG-against (.249) and 4th in WHIP (1.27).
In his season finale, Erik took
a no-hitter into the 8th inning
of a game that ended as a 1-hit shutout win over Corpus Christi.
In his previous
outing that week Erik took a no-hitter into the 6th inning before giving
up the first hit of that game. For those two efforts Erik was named
the
Texas League Pitcher of the Week
in the final week of the season.
Following his second stellar season, the Padres invited Erik to play
in the Arizona Fall League, recognized as the top level of competition
below the major leagues.
In 2009, Erik helped lead the
Fort Wayne TinCaps
to the Midwest League Championship and
the best record in all of pro baseball (101-48)
while
personally posting a 16-6 record (franchise record) with a 3.64 ERA and
106 strikeouts in 123.2 innings of work. He was named the Padres’ minor
league Pitcher of the Month in August 2009 and the Santa Clara County
Hot Stove Committee’s minor league Pitcher of the Year in January 2010.
In 2008, Erik was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 13th round and assigned to their Northwest League affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds. He went on to compile impressive statistics for the Western Division co-champion Emeralds with a 2-0 record, 2.70 ERA, 39 strikeouts and only 7 walks in 26.2 innings while limiting opponents to a mere .200 batting average and less than 1 base runner per inning.
Erik was a four-year letterman at Stanford University where he completed a
stellar senior season
as the Saturday starter in which he led the Cardinal
back to the
College World Series
for the first time in five years.
Erik was an
All Pacific-10 Conference first team selection,
awarded Stanford's
Bill Alhouse Come-Through Award,
and named the
Santa Clara Hot Stove Banquet’s College Co-Pitcher of the Year
in a season
in which he led the Cardinal in wins (8-3), innings pitched (103.1),
strikeouts (103) and starts (16).
Erik pitched four consecutive complete
game victories to open the Pac-10 season including wins over Washington
State, #1 ranked Arizona State, defending national champion Oregon State
and UCLA. The UCLA win, in which he struck out a career high 13 Bruins,
garnered Erik Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors.
He wound up his college
career by throwing four strong innings in the ESPN-televised
Game 9 of the College World Series,
getting the victory and eliminating the #1 seeded Miami Hurricanes.
At Mountain View High School where he owns nearly every pitching record,
Erik led the Spartans to their first league title (2004) in 15 seasons and
was named team MVP.
He was a High School All-American (2004), All-State
(2004), two-time SCVAL All-League (2003, 2004), Baseball America Youth
Player of the Year finalist (2003) and National Player of the Year
finalist (2004).
Erik twice played for the USA Junior National Team in
the Pan Am (Curacao, 2003) and World Championships (Taiwan, 2004). He
was drafted by the Anaheim Angels after high school (2004) and again by
the Texas Rangers (2007) but decided to return to Stanford both times.
In LA-MV PONY, Erik helped his team to a Bronco League championship in
1996 and a Pony League title in 2000. He was a member of LA-MV's Bronco
Section championship team in 1999 and Pony Section championship team in
2001. Erik's father, Tom, is a former LA-MV PONY President.
Ryan Lee, Haar Disciples.
At the end of his second season in the White Sox farm system,
Ryan signed with the Haar Disciples of the Baseball-Bundesliga,
the elite professional baseball league of Germany.
Ryan was the first foreign newcomer signed by the Disciples for 2011,
and is expected to bat leadoff and play second base and outfield.
After spring training in the coastal resort town of Rimini, Italy, the
Disciples will begin regular season play in April,
where the team will be pushing for a repeat appearance in the playoffs.
Ryan became the fourth-ever LA-MV alum selected in the professional
baseball draft.
Following a tremendous four-year career at
Division I Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,
Ryan was drafted by the
Chicago White Sox
in the
41st round
of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Ryan completed a second stellar season in the White Sox system in 2010, posting a combined .316 batting average for two teams, the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League and the Kannapolis Intimidators of the South Atlantic League.
Ryan had a superb college baseball career at Cal Poly.
In his
senior season
he started all 58 games in center field and helped power the
Mustangs to a 37-21 record, their first trip to the NCAA post season in
15 years, and the team’s
first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Ryan set a new
Mustangs team hitting streak record
at 26, batted .328, had 33 multiple-hit games,
and led the team with 27 stolen bases.
He was selected Big West Player of the Week after hitting 9 for 19 the week
of May 12, and selected to the All-Big West Conference second team.
He was also awarded the “Robin Baggett Scholar-Athlete Award” and
the “Jason Maas Captain’s Award” at Cal Poly.
As a junior, Ryan
received Cal Poly’s “Dick Morrow Coaches Award” and was named to
the Honorable Mention All Big West team at the conclusion of the season.
Ryan was recruited to Cal Poly following a brilliant high school career at national powerhouse St. Francis where he was an All-CCS and WCAL All-League selection as a senior in both football and baseball.
Retired Professional Alumni
Matt Means, San Diego Padres.
Matt completed his college career at Sonoma State University with a
phenomenal senior season as the Friday starter in which he led the
Seawolves to the NCAA Division-2 College World Series for the first
time in school history. Matt was a Division-2 first team All American
and first team All California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
selection in a season in which he led the Seawolves in wins (10-2),
innings pitched (102), strikeouts (93) and starts (17). Matt’s 93
strikeouts were the second-most in Sonoma State history. Matt also
posted a stellar 1.85 ERA. Matt finished his Sonoma State career with the
second-most pitching appearances in school history (59). During summer
baseball while in college, Matt appeared in the Stan Musial World Series
with the Novato Knicks (2007).
In 2008, Matt was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 37th round and
spent parts of his first professional season with the Arizona League
Padres and the
Eugene Emeralds
of the Northwest League where he again
teamed up with his former high school and LA-MV PONY teammate, Erik Davis.
He retired from professional baseball in Spring 2009.
Matt had a highly successful high school career at Mountain View where he was 7-0 from the bump as a senior (2003) leading the Spartans to their first-ever 20-win season and a trip to the CCS playoffs. He was a first team SCVAL All-League selection and team MVP as a senior.
As an LA-MV all star his teams were Mustang Section runner-up in 1996
and Pony Section runner-up in 2000. Matt is a hard-throwing left handed
pitcher with a fastball in the high 80s and solid 12-6 curveball that
keeps hitters off-balance. Matt's father, Tom, is the mayor of Mountain
View in 2008.
Wes Swackhamer, St. Louis Cardinals.
Wes was one of the most feared hitters
and pitchers in LA-MV PONY history. Playing in LA-MV only through Mustang
before his family moved East, Wes was a power left-handed pitcher with a
devastating fastball that drove fear into the heads of opposing batters. At
the plate, no young hitter in LA-MV history had as much power as Wes. Home
runs deep into the gap at Oak School or over the fence at Loyola School were
the norm.
After moving East to New Jersey, Wes continued his dominance of youth
baseball, eventually playing on the USA Junior National Team. After high
school, Wes was drafted in the 19th round by the Chicago White Sox but
decided to attend the University of Florida instead as a power-hitting
outfielder. He later transferred to Tulane University where he hit .355 as
a junior and helped lead the Green Wave to the NCAA tournament.
Wes was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the
5th round of the 2004 draft
and spent three seasons in the minor leagues before retiring in 2006.
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