Three Former Huskers on Opening Day Rosters

Lincoln ? Former Husker All-Americans Alex Gordon and Darin Erstad begin the season on Major League Rosters, as the 2007 season begins this week. Gordon will become the 25th former Husker to reach the Major Leagues on opening day, as he was added to Kansas City’s 40-man roster over the weekend. One of the top prospects in all of professional baseball, Gordon will hit fifth and play third base in Kansas City’s opening-day lineup against the Boston Red Sox.

In 2006, he was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .325 with 29 homers, 101 RBIs and 111 runs scored in AA Wichita, his first season in professional baseball. A two-time All-American at Nebraska, Gordon was the consensus national player of the year in 2005, hitting .372 with 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in helping the Huskers to a school-record 57 wins and a berth in the College World Series.

While Gordon begins his MLB career, another veteran finds himself in a new location, as Darin Erstad signed with the Chicago White Sox in the off-season after 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. Erstad, who will hit second and start in center field for the White Sox against Cleveland, is a career .286 hitter in 1,320 career games, driving in 625 runs in that span. Last season, injuries limited the former No. 1 overall pick to just 40 games with the Angels.

A third former Husker, Oakland Athletics first baseman Dan Johnson, would have joined them on a 25-man roster, but will open the year on the disabled list after suffering a hip injury last week. Johnson played in 91 games last season for Oakland, hitting .234 with a homer and nine RBIs for the American League West champion Athletics.