http://www.usajaguars.com/news/2010/7/12...02520.aspx

FORMER JAGUARS SHINE IN MLB'S FIRST HALF

MOBILE, Ala. – Four former University of South Alabama baseball student-athletes and current major leaguers closed the first half of the 2010 Major League Baseball season last week, and following the All-Star break, will look to help push their teams into the playoffs.

Juan Pierre, David Freese, Adam Lind and P.J. Walters, all former All-Americans at South Alabama, will take the few days provided by the break to recharge before gearing up for the second-half run.

Pierre is playing in the American League for the first time in his career with the Chicago White Sox, but he continues to do what he has always done. Pierre leads all of Major League Baseball in stolen bases with 32, marking the 10th consecutive season he has stolen at least 30 bags. If he matches his first-half total in the second half of the season, Pierre would move to 30th on the all-time list, and would better the career marks of Barry Bonds and Hall of Famers Willie Keeler, Paul Molitor, Luis Aparicio and Fred Clarke.

Pierre needs just nine steals to reach 500 for his career. He is the active leader in stolen bases (491), and is 39th on the all-time steals list. In the first half of the 2010 season, Pierre passed Bobby Bonds, Delino DeShields, Omar Moreno, Roberto Alomar and Hall of Famer Tommy McCarthy on the all-time list.

He closed the first half with a .257 batting average, nine doubles, a triple, 14 RBI and 46 runs scored. Pierre leads the White Sox in games played (86) and at-bats (339), and is tied for second in hits (87).

Freese, the starting third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, closed the first half of his rookie season as one of the top newcomers in all of MLB. At the break, Freese is tied for second in hits (71) among rookies in the National League, and ranks third in batting average (.296). He is fourth in on-base percentage (.361), tied for fourth in RBI (36) and ranks fifth in doubles (12). The Wildwood,Mo., native hit .364 at Busch Stadium in the first half, and batted .357 against lefties. Freese was named the National Leagues Player of the Week for the last week of April, capping a month in which he batted .324 with a home run and 14 RBI, while posting a .382 on-base percentage. He promptly closed the month with a 3-for-3 performance against Atlanta, in which he doubled, homered and drove in a career-high six runs.

In May, Freese continued to produce with a .315 average, three home runs and 17 RBI, and opened the month with four consecutive multiple-hit games. His production dropped in June due to an ankle bruise which finally placed him on the disabled list on June 29. Freese battled discomfort in the ankle after stepping awkwardly on a base in a game against Milwaukee on June 5. The Cardinals are hopeful he’ll be back to start the second half of the season, and list mid-July as when he’s due to return.

Lind closed the first half on a six-game hitting streak, and has hit safely in eight of his last nine games for the Toronto Blue Jays. Last week, he homered three times and drove in four runs, including a 3-for-4 performance against Boston, in which he homered and drove in two runs. The 2009 American League Silver Slugger Award winner signed a four-year, $18 million contract earlier this season, which could extend to seven years with club options and reach nearly $40 million.

Walters finished the first half at AAA Memphis, but earned his first career MLB win on May 27 at San Diego. The Daphne, Ala., native and tossed five scoreless innings in just his second career start, and allowed four hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Following that win, Walters made one start and one appearance out of the bullpen before he was reassigned to Memphis. But based on his AAA numbers, and the fact that Baseball America rated him with the “Best Changeup” and “Best Control” in the Cardinals organization, it shouldn’t be long before the right-hander is back in St. Louis.

This season at Memphis, Walters is 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA in nine starts. He has recorded 57 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched, and boasts a 1.23 WHIP. Walters has won his last two starts with the Redbirds, and allowed just one run in each of those two.

(07-13-2010 03:04 PM)SkullyMaroo Wrote:  Pierre is playing in the American League for the first time in his career with the Chicago White Sox, but he continues to do what he has always done. Pierre leads all of Major League Baseball in stolen bases with 32, marking the 10th consecutive season he has stolen at least 30 bags. If he matches his first-half total in the second half of the season, Pierre would move to 30th on the all-time list, and would better the career marks of Barry Bonds and Hall of Famers Willie Keeler, Paul Molitor, Luis Aparicio and Fred Clarke.

Pierre needs just nine steals to reach 500 for his career. He is the active leader in stolen bases (491), and is 39th on the all-time steals list. In the first half of the 2010 season, Pierre passed Bobby Bonds, Delino DeShields, Omar Moreno, Roberto Alomar and Hall of Famer Tommy McCarthy on the all-time list.

He closed the first half with a .257 batting average, nine doubles, a triple, 14 RBI and 46 runs scored. Pierre leads the White Sox in games played (86) and at-bats (339), and is tied for second in hits (87).

JP was at the FAU vs USA game in Boca last year. I sat right next to him. I recognized him as "someone" and a few people came over to get autographs, but it wasnt untill they showed him on the video screen with his name that I knew who he was.

He was into the game sproting a USA hat. Obvioiusly supporting his university.

Seemed like a very nice and personable guy.