Huskers in Major League Baseball

Bob Cerv (1947-50)
1951-62; Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals
Bob Cerv's most productive year in the majors was in 1958. While playing for the Kansas City Athletics, Cerv belted 38 homers, a mark which still stands as the record by a professional player in Kansas City. He was the first Husker to participate in an All-Star Game. He started the 1958 All-Star Game in left field for the American League. He went 1-for-2 and had a single off Warren Spahn in the first inning. In his career, Cerv tallied 105 homers - including 12 pinch-hit homers - and hit .276 while playing on four World Series teams with the Yankees (career totals)

Dwight Siebler (1957-58)
1963-67; Minnesota Twins
Dwight Siebler, a native of Columbus, Neb., made his major league debut on Aug. 26, 1963, and pitched five seasons for the Minnesota Twins. He pitched 38.2 innings as a rookie and had a career-best 2.79 ERA, striking out 22 batters in seven games. Siebler went 2-1 as a rookie in five starts and held opponents to a .182 batting average. His next two seasons he combined for 26 innings in 16 games before making 23 appearances and pitching 49.2 innings in 1966. That season, he went 2-2 with one save and 24 strikeouts. Through five major league seasons, he had a 4-3 record, one save and a 3.45 ERA in 117.1 innings of work. He finished with 71 strikeouts and allowed just 97 hits and 44 walks (career totals).

Stan Bahnsen (1965)
1968-83; New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Montreal Expos, California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies
Stan Bahnsen, who competed at Nebraska in 1965, was the 1968 American League Rookie of the Year after compiling a 17-12 record with the New York Yankees and striking out 162 batters for a 2.05 ERA. A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, he finished with a career record of 146-149 with 20 saves and an ERA of 3.60. Bahnsen pitched in 574 games and had 1,359 strikeouts with six different major league teams, including a career-high 162 in his second season. He recorded 100 or more strikeouts for seven straight seasons (1968-74) and posted double-figure wins six times, including a 21-16 record with the White Sox in 1972. He also had an ERA of 3.60 in 43 games that year. He ended his 16-year major league career in 1982 with the Philadelphia Phillies, having pitched 16 shutouts and 73 complete games (career totals).

Gary Neibauer (1965-66)
1969-73; Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies
Gary Neibauer played five seasons in the major leagues from 1969-1973. He played four seasons with Atlanta, before spending the end of the 1972 season with the Phillies. He retired after completing his career in 1973 with the Braves. The right-handed pitcher saw action in 75 games throughout his career, including 29 as a rookie. He compiled a 4-8 career record and earned one save in 148.2 innings of work. He had 81 career strikeouts and a 4.78 career ERA. He had a career-best 2.14 ERA in 1971, when he went 1-0 with one save in six games. At the plate, he hit his only career home run in his final season (career totals).

Ryan Kurosaki (1971-73)
1975; St. Louis Cardinals
Ryan Kurosaki, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, pitched one season in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his major league debut on May 20, 1975 and pitched in seven games that season. He worked 13 innings and had a 7.62 ERA, but did not earn a decision. The right-handed pitcher had six strikeouts in his seven outings (career totals).

Pete O'Brien (1978-79)
1982-93; Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners
Pete O'Brien called it quits in 1993 after a stellar 11-year Major League career. O'Brien spent the first six years of his career with the Texas Rangers. He then played with the Cleveland Indians for a season and spent the final four years of his career as a member of the Seattle Mariners. O'Brien was called up to the Rangers in late 1982 and never spent another day in the minor leagues. He finished his career with a .261 average and hit 169 home runs. He had 1,421 hits, 736 RBIs and 654 runs scored in his major league career. His best season came in 1986, with the Rangers when he hit .290, had 160 hits, 23 home runs and 88 RBIs (career totals).

Tim Burke (1979-80)
1985-92; Montreal Expos, New York Mets, New York Yankees
Nebraska great Tim Burke played in the big leagues for 10 years before retiring in 1994. Burke spent most of his career with the Montreal Expos, pitching six years. In 1989, he recorded 28 saves, a 2.52 ERA and had a 9-3 record for Montreal. He was selected to participate on the National League All-Star team that season. Two years earlier in 1987, Burke was almost untouchable. He was 7-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 55 games and 91 innings. For his career, he had a record of 49-33 and played in 498 games. He made two starts his entire big league career. He finished with 444 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.72 (career totals).

Steve Stanicek (1980-82)
1987, 1989; Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies
A native of Lake Forest, Ill., Steve Stanicek played two seasons in the major leagues. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987 and then returned in 1989 to play for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played in 13 games in those two seasons and went 3-for-13 (.188 average) with two runs scored and one RBI (career totals).

Bob Sebra (1981-83)
1985-90; Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers
Bob Sebra played for five major league teams in his professional career. Sebra began his baseball career with the Montreal Expos, where he played two seasons. After a 5-5 mark as a rookie in 1985, Sebra was 6-15 the next year. He finished his playing career having appeared in 94 games with a record of 15-29. Sebra had a career ERA of 4.71, with two shutouts and 281 strikeouts in 366.2 innings pitched. Sebra?s career ended with the Milwaukee Brewers at the conclusion of the 1991 season, after playing for the Expos, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds (career totals).

Bill McGuire (1983-85)
1988-89; Seattle Mariners
Bill McGuire played two seasons for the Seattle Mariners, seeing action in 23 games during the 1988 and 1989 seasons. He went 8-for-23 at the plate (.182), scored three runs, drove in six and hit his only career home run in 1989. A native of Omaha, Neb., he made his major league debut on Aug. 2, 1988 (career totals).

Kip Gross (1986)
1990-93, 1999-2000; Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros
Kip Gross, a native of Gering, Neb., has played six seasons in the major leagues. He was called up by the Cincinnati Reds in 1990, making five appearances, covering 6.1 innings. In his second season with the Reds he made a career-high 29 appearances, throwing 85.2 innings and posting a 6-4 record. He started nine games that season, had a 3.47 ERA and pitched one complete game. He was a reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992 and 1993 and was called up by the Boston Red Sox in 1999, going 0-2 in 11 appearances. In 2000, he went 0-1 for the Houston Astros after spending most of the season in AAA. Gross was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers following the 2000 season and pitched in AAA last season. In his major league career, he made 73 appearances, threw 147.1 innings, struck out 81 batters and had a 3.90 ERA (career totals).

Ken Ramos (1987-89)
1997; Houston Astros
Ken Ramos, who played for the Huskers from 1987 to 1989, played one season in the major leagues, joining the Houston Astros in 1997. That season, he played in 14 games, drew two walks and scored one RBI. He was hitless in 14 at-bats (career totals).

Kevin Jordan (1990)
1995-2001; Philadelphia Phillies
Kevin Jordan has spent the past seven seasons in the major leagues, all with the Philadelphia Phillies. A 20th-round pick by the New York Yankees after playing at Nebraska in 1990, Jordan was traded to the Phillies organization in 1994, before making his major league debut the following season. Last season, Jordan appeared in 68 games, batting .239 with a homer and 13 RBIs, primarily playing third base. He enjoyed his best season in the majors in 1999, hitting .285 with four homers and 51 RBIs. A career .258 hitter, he has 363 hits, 175 RBIs, 138 runs scored and 70 doubles in his 560 games with the Phillies (career totals).

Marc Sagmoen (1992-93)
1997; Texas Rangers
Marc Sagmoen made major league history in his debut with the Texas Rangers on April 18, 1997. Sagmoen became one of just four players to get an inside-the-park home run for his first career hit, sparking Texas to a 5-1 win and its first-ever sweep at Kansas City. But that wasn?t all. Sagmoen was sporting a randomly assigned No. 42 on his jersey and became the last player to wear it in a Major League Baseball game, as baseball retired the number that same night to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of Jackie Robinson?s career. Sagmoen played in 21 games that season, going 6 for 43 at the plate for a .140 batting average. After spending the 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Rangers? AAA affiliate Oklahoma City, Sagmoen spent the 2000 season with the Astros? AAA franchise in New Orleans. Last season, he split time between the Cardinal, Twins and Rangers organizations (career totals).

Troy Brohawn (1992-94)
2001-Present; Arizona Diamondbacks; San Francisco Giants; Los Angeles Dodgers
One of two Huskers to make their Major League debut in 2001, Troy Brohawn was a member of pennant-winning clubs in his first two Major League seasons. Originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1994, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 1998 season and spent two seasons in AAA before making his Major League debut on April 14, 2001. In 2001, he made 59 appearances for the Diamondbacks, going 2-3 with a 4.92 ERA, as Arizona won a World Series title. Brohawn made his only postseason appearance in Game 6 of the World Series where he pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the Yankees. He was signed by the San Francisco Giants before the 2002 season and made 11 appearances with the National League champions in 2002, going 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA, but was not on the Giants’ postseason roster. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, going 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 12 appearances before missing most of the year with tendinitis in his rotator cuff in May. (career totals).

Darin Erstad (1993-95)
1996-Present; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Chicago White Sox; Houston Astros
Darin Erstad was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft and has enjoyed a stellar Major League career.  A two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner, Erstad became the first player in MLB history to win Gold Gloves in the outfield (2000 and 2002) and infield (2004) after moving to first base in 2004. In 2005, Erstad hit .271 with seven homers and 65 RBIs, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won their second straight divisional crown. Erstad helped the Angels to their first AL West title in 18 years in 2004, batting .295 while ranking third among AL first basemen with a .996 fielding percentage, committing four errors in 1,056 total chances. Erstad helped Anaheim to its first World Series title in 2002, tying a postseason record with 25 hits. Erstad batted .283 with 10 homers on the year, while committing one error in 473 total chances for a .998 fielding percentage to win his second Gold Glove. He enjoyed his best offensive season in 2000, batting .355 and leading the majors with 240 hits. He topped the Angels in seven categories, including batting average, runs, hits, total bases and stolen bases. Erstad also won his first Gold Glove in 2000, committing just three errors in 362 total chances. In 1998, he hit .296 with 82 RBIs and 84 runs scored, earning All-Star honors for the first time in his career.  His jump to the Major Leagues came after only one year in the minors. He spent his last two seasons with the Houston Astros, hitting .276 with four home and 31 RBIs in 140 contests in 2008 (career totals).

Ken Harvey (1997-99)
2001-05; Kansas City Royals
Ken Harvey spent four seasons with the Kansas City Royals and is currently in the Minnesota Twins organization. Harvey, a fifth-round pick of the Royals in 1999, made his Major League Debut on Sept. 18, 2001, and hit .250 with a pair of RBIs in four games. Harvey returned to the Majors in 2003, hitting .266 with 13 homers, 64 RBIs and 30 doubles, as Kansas City posted its first winning season since 1993. Harvey enjoyed his best year in the Majors in 2004, when he was selected to the MLB All-Star game. That year, he played in 120 games, hitting .287 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs before suffering a season-ending knee injury in September. Harvey led the American League in hitting during the first half of the season, topping the AL with a .361 average on June 15.  Harvey was bothered by injuries in 2005, appearing in just 12 games that season for the Royals. (career totals).

Todd Sears (1995-97)
2002-04; Minnesota Twins; San Diego Padres
Todd Sears split time in both leagues during the 2003 season, as he began the year with Minnesota before being dealt to the San Diego Padres in September. He appeared in 21 games, batting .247 with two homers and 11 RBIs. Sears appeared in 24 games for Minnesota and drove in a career-high four runs against Boston on May 9. In limited duty with San Diego, he batted .250 with a double and two runs scored in nine games. Sears was called up by the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 17, 2002, hitting .333 with two doubles and three runs scored in seven contests. Sears, who missed all of the 2004 season with a back injury suffered in the season opener, has spent the last three seasons in AAA, splitting time between Albuquerque and Tacoma in 2006. At Nebraska, Sears earned third-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America and first-team All-Big 12 honors in 1997, batting .421 with 17 homers and 79 RBIs.(career totals).

Jamal Strong (1999-2000)
2003-05; Seattle Mariners
One of the fastest outfielders in Nebraska history, Jamal Strong reached the Major Leagues on Sept. 2, 2003, and has spent parts of two seasons with the Mariners and is currently in the Atlanta Braves organization.  In 2003, he primarily saw action as a pinch-runner, appearing in 12 games and scoring two runs. He also went hitless in his only two at bats. After missing part of the 2004 campaign with a knee injury, Strong returned to the Majors in 2005, batting .250 with two RBIs and six runs scored for the Mariners.  A sixth-round pick of the Mariners in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Strong played two seasons with Nebraska, batting .322 with 69 career stolen bases, while helping the Huskers to an NCAA Regional in 1999 - NU’s first NCAA appearance in 14 seasons - and a then-school-record 51 wins en route to a Super Regional finish in 2000.(career totals).

Dan Johnson (2000-2001)
2005-2008; Oakland Athletics; Tampa Bay Rays
Dan Johnson has spent part of four seasons in the Major Leagues after originally being called up by the Oakland Athletics on May 26, 2005. Johnson played a key role in the Athletics’ late-season charge in 2005, batting .275 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 109 games. His .355 on-base percentage ranked second among AL rookies, his 50 walks tied for second and his .451 slugging percentage ranked third. He was selected to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team, besting National League Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard for the prestigious honor. In 2006, he was a part-time starter for Oakland’s AL West Divisional title team, hitting .234 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 91 contests. In 2007, Johnson earned a spot in the everyday starting lineup, setting career bests in homers (18) and RBIs (67) while appearing in 117 contests. In 2008, he was signed by the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, hitting .192 with a pair of homers and four RBIs. He made an immediate impact in his debut on Sept. 10, hitting a game-tying home run off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning of a 5-4 Rays win. Johnson spent the 2009 season with the Yokohama BayStars of Japan's Central League. He rejoined Tampa Bay for the 2010 campaign and was called up in August. On Aug. 28, he hit a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox. Johnson had one of the most powerful bats on the Rays' roster, and helped his team to the postseason with seven homers in just 40 games (career totals).

Adam Shabala (1999-2000)
2005; San Francisco Giants
After spending six seasons in the minor leagues, Adam Shabala became the 21st Husker to reach the Majors, as he was called up by the San Francisco Giants on June 16, 2005. He appeared in six games for the Giants, going 3-for-15 with four RBIs, including two in his Major League debut at Minnesota. Shabala, who was drafted by the Giants in the 10th round following his senior year at Nebraska, was called up by the Giants after hitting .287 with nine homers and 22 RBIs in 56 games for AAA Fresno. During his Husker career, he was a career .352 hitter with 71 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in helping Nebraska to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. As a senior, he hit .338 with four homers and 33 RBIs, and was the MVP of the 2000 Big 12 Tournament, as Nebraska won five straight games to repeat as Big 12 Tournament champions. (career totals).

Adam Stern (1999-2001)
2005-2007; Boston Red Sox; Baltimore Orioles; Milwaukee Brewers
Adam Stern has spent parts of the past three seasons in the Major Leagues with Boston and Baltimore. A third-round pick by Atlanta in 2001, Stern made his MLB debut with Boston on July 7, 2005. He appeared in 36 games for the Red Sox, hitting .133 in 15 at-bats, picking up his first base hit against the New York Yankees on July 15, before belting his first career homer against the Chicago White Sox on July 22.  He appeared in 10 games for the Red Sox in 2006 before being traded to Baltimore. Stern appeared in two games for the Orioles in 2007, but did not record a plate appearance. In addition to his MLB experience, Stern also played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, going 6-for-9 with a double, triple, homer and five RBIs for Team Canada and was a member of Canada’s 2004 and 2008 Olympic Baseball teams. He made a return to the majors in 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers and appeared in six games (career totals).

Shane Komine (1999-2002)
2006-2007; Oakland Athletics
Two-time All-American Shane Komine became the 23rd former Husker to reach the Major Leagues, as he made his Major League debut on July 30, 2006. Komine’s first appearance in the Majors was a memorable one, as he out-dueled former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay. Komine allowed one run on four hits over six innings against the Blue Jays, leaving with a 2-1 lead before Oakland rallied in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 win. Komine made two starts for the Athletics in 2006, allowing five runs over nine innings of work, but did not record a decision. In 2007, he made two relief appearances, posting a 4.78 ERA for the Athletics and was limited to just four appearances in 2008 for Triple-A Sacramento because of a shoulder injury. (career totals)

Drew Anderson (2001-2003)
2006; Milwaukee Brewers
Drew Anderson became the first former Husker from the state of Nebraska to reach the Majors since 1990, when he made his MLB debut for the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 11, 2006.  A 24th-round  pick of the Brewers in 2003, Anderson appeared in nine contests as a rookie, earning his first career hit in a start against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 21, 2006. He spent the 2008 season with Louisville in the Cincinnati Reds organization, hitting a team-high .291 with eight homers and 71 RBIs. (career totals)

Alex Gordon (2003-2005)
2007-Present; Kansas City Royals
Alex Gordon enjoyed a rapid rise to the Major Leagues as he spent one season in the minors before making the Kansas City Royals’ 2007 opening day roster. Gordon, Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2006, hit .247 with 36 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 60 runs scored while going 14-of-18 on the basepaths. He led all American League rookies in extra-base hits (55) and was in the top three among AL rookies in home runs (second), RBIs (third), doubles (third), triples (third), stolen bases (third) and total bases (third). Gordon’s continued development helped the Royals to their best record since 2003, as he hit .260 with 16 homers and 59 RBIs in 134 contests in 2008. In 2009, he was slowed by a hip injury and played just 30 games, hitting.232 with six homers and 22 RBIs. A broken thumb and position change to outfield put a slow start to Gordon's 2010 season. He went on to play in 74 games and hit .215 with eight homers and 10 doubles (career totals).

Joba Chamberlain (2005-2006)  
2007-Present; New York Yankees
Joba Chamberlain became an overnight sensation for the New York Yankees, propelling  the franchise to a playoff appearance in 2007. He began the year in Class A Tampa  and jumped four levels in his first professional season. He finished the season in the Majors, going 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA in 19 appearances, striking out 34 over 24 innings of work after being called up on Aug. 7. He earned his first MLB win against Seattle on Sept. 5, tossing a perfect inning of relief and followed up 11 days later with a victory over Boston. Chamberlain, a first-round pick in 2006, began his Yankee career by not allowing a run in his first 15.1 innings, the second-longest streak in franchise history and the longest in over a century.  Chamberlain continued his development in 2008, going 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA for the Yankees, making 42 appearances, including 12 starts for the Bronx Bombers. He played an important role in the Yankees' 27th world title in 2009, going 9-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 43 starts during the regular season. In the playoffs, he was even better, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.84 ERA in 10 games, earning a win in the World Series for the Yankees. Chamberlain was moved to the bullpen for the 2010 season and appeared in 73 games, the fifth-most in the American League. He posted three saves and struck out 77 hitters in 71.2 innings (career totals).

Brian Duensing (2002-2005)
2009-Present; Minnesota Twins
Brian Duensing made the Minnesota Twins' opening day roster in 2009. He had just one appearance before returning to Triple-A Rochester in April. Duensing was recalled by the Twins on July 3, and played a major role in Minnesota's late-season run to the AL Central pennant, going 5-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 24 games, including a 5-1 mark with a 2.73 ERA in nine starts. Duensing, a third-round pick by the Twins in the 005 MLB Draft, started the Twins' opener in the 2009 ALDS, becoming only the third Twins rookie to start a playoff game since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. Duensing made a name for himself during the 2010 season as one of the Twins' most reliable starters. He went 10-3 with a 2.62 ERA and was at his best down the stretch, earning a spot in the starting rotation in July and then posting his first career shutout less than a month later. He was Minnesota's No. 3 starter in the 2010 playoffs (career totals).

Zach Kroenke (2003-2005)
2010-Present; Arizona Diamondbacks
Zach Kroenke continued the ascension of Husker pitchers to the Majors when he was called up by the Arizona Diamondbacks in September of 2010. After an initial relieving role, Kroenke made his first career start on Oct. 1, 2010 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and picked up the win, going 5.0 innings while giving up just two hits and one run. A fifth-round pick in the 2005 MLB Draft by the Yankees, Kroenke later moved to the Diamondbacks organization after he was selected by Arizona in the 2009 Rule 5 Draft (career totals).

Tony Watson (2005-2007)
2011-Present; Pittsburgh Pirates
(career totals).

Andrew Brown (2006-2007)
2011-Present; St. Louis Cardinals
(career totals).

Steve Edlefsen (2006-2007)
2011-Present; San Francisco Giatns
(career totals).