June 16, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Arizona State sophomore shortstop Dustin Pedroia earned his fourth first-team All-American honor to lead a list of four Sun Devils to be named to the 2003 CollegeBaseballInsider.com All-America team. Pedroia (1st team), sophomore first baseman Jeff Larish (2nd team), junior outfielder Andre Ethier (honorable mention) and junior designated hitter Jeremy West (honorable mention) were selected to the team by the staff at CBI.
Pedroia (Woodland, Calif.) also earned first-team honors from Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/ESPN and was named the NCBWA District IX Player of the Year and first-team All-American. He became only the 16th Sun Devil to hit over .400 in a season (.404) and ranks fourth in ASU history with his 120 hits. He broke the ASU and Pac-10 single-season record with 34 doubles and recorded four separate hitting streaks of 10 or more games.
Larish (Tempe, Ariz.), a second-team pick by CBI, also earned All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball (2nd team) and NCBWA (3rd team). The sophomore first baseman led the Pac-10 with 95 RBI, marking the fourth most in ASU single-season history. He finished fourth on the team hitting .372 (87-for-234) with 18 doubles, 80 runs scored and 18 home runs. His 78 walks are second most in ASU history, becoming only the second player to join the 70-70 (RBI-BB) club in a season. He also tied the single-game record with four doubles (Arizona; 5/25) and nine RBI (SDSU; 1/26) and broke the season record with four grand slams.
Ethier (Phoenix, Ariz.) was an honorable mention selection by CBI after heading into the season as a third-team preseason All-American by the NCBWA. A second-round pick of the Oakland Athletics in the MLB draft, Ethier capped his ASU career with a great junior season. He hit .377 (98-for-260) with 13 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 68 RBI. The two-time, first-team All-Pac-10 selection ended the season with a 23-game hitting streak, marking the eighth longest streak in ASU history. During the streak Ethier hit .444 (44-for-99) with eight of his 10 home runs.
West (Las Vegas, Nev.) also earned honorable mention honors by CBI. The junior designated hitter was one of the nation's hottest hitters to end the season, capping his career with a 24-game hitting streak. West hit .381 (77-for-202) with 10 doubles, 17 home runs and 71 RBI. During his 24-game hitting streak, West recorded 46 hits, 38 of his 71 RBI and eight home runs. During the 2003 season he tied the ASU single-game records with three home runs and nine RBI vs. Washington State (4/27). The seventh-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox ended his ASU career 10th in RBI (176), fifth in slugging percentage (.647) and eighth in home runs (36).
CollegeBaseballInsider.com began covering college baseball on a national level on Feb. 14, 2002. The site has attracted 1 million hits this baseball season.
2003 CBI All-American Team on the Web: http://www.collegebaseballinsider.com/2003%20AA.htm
2003 ASU Baseball All-Americans:
NCBWA:
Dustin Pedroia (1st) -- District IX Player of the Year
Steve Garrabrants (2nd)
Jeff Larish (3rd)
Jered Liebeck (3rd)
Collegiate Baseball:
Dustin Pedroia (1st)
Jeff Larish (2nd)
Collegiate Baseball Freshman
Travis Buck (1st)
Erik Averill (1st)
Sports Weekly/ESPN
Dustin Pedroia (1st)
CollegeBaseballInsider.com:
Dustin Pedroia (1st)
Jeff Larish (2nd)
Jeremy West (HM)
Andre Ethier (HM)
Baseball America:
TBA
ABCA:
TBA