Dirtbags Baseball - Long Beach State 49ers

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Monday, July 18, 2005

Another Good Piece On Newest Major League Former Dirtbag Jason Vargas

From the Palm Beach Post:

Vargas makes major introduction

By Tom D'Angelo

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, July 16, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - Jack McKeon invited the new face into his office expecting a question.

"I thought he was a writer from Philadelphia," McKeon said.

When the kid extended his hand and introduced himself as Jason Vargas, McKeon's newest pitcher, the manager acted like he'd known all along.

McKeon can be forgiven if he had no idea who Vargas was - most of his players didn't, either. Vargas has been in the organization a year, never been to major-league camp in spring training and started the season in Greensboro, N.C., the organization's low Class A affiliate.

"When we drafted him a year ago they really thought he could be a quick mover in the system because of his mental makeup and his ability to compete and he's done nothing to disappoint us," General Manager Larry Beinfest said. "He's been outstanding."

Vargas, 22, was at a mall Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C., when he got the call that he would be making the jump from Class AA to the majors to replace Al Leiter on the roster. This capped a whirlwind 3 1/2 months in which the left-hander climbed from Greensboro to Class A Jupiter to Carolina, making a combined 17 starts.

"It's been a wild year," Vargas said. "I never would have expected this."

Vargas made his major-league debut Thursday, pitching one inning and allowing his first hit and walk, and posting his first strikeout. He will start Monday at Arizona.

"To get out there for the first time and get a chance to pitch in front of a lot of people, it was a great experience," Vargas said. "I'll never forget it."

Vargas has added a third pitch, a slider, since the Marlins drafted him in the second round last year out of Long Beach State. He primarily threw a fastball and changeup in college.

The pitch has allowed him to become more of a strikeout pitcher, with 118 in 108 innings this season. He had 58 in 60 1/3 innings at Jamestown and Greensboro last season.

With that, Vargas excused himself and started making his way around the clubhouse. After all, there were new teammates to meet.

posted on 7/18/2005 by Jeff Agnew

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