Clement, Varland Represent PGCBL in Fall Classic

TORONTO -- The World Series begins tonight, and for the third straight year the Fall Classic will include alumni from the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL).

Last year it was former Amsterdam Mohawk, Mark Leiter, Jr., pitching for the New York Yankees and in 2023 former Amsterdam Mohawk, Andrew Saalfrank, pitched in the Fall Classic for the Arizona Diamondbacks. This season, it's former Albany Dutchmen, Ernie Clement, who is currently an infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, and former Utica Blue Sox, Louie Varland, who is a pitcher for the Blue Jays.

Clement played in the PGCBL during the 2014 season, following the conclusion of his high school season in Rochester, NY. The Virginia commit appeared in 19 games for the Dutchmen in 2014 and had a .322 batting average, which was the second highest on the team.

Known as a contact hitter, Clement only struck out twice in 59 at-bats for the Dutchmen and in his college career at Virginia, he was rung up just 31 times over 745 career at-bats.

During Virginia's 2015 National Championship run, Clement started 61 games as a freshman, splitting time between second base and centerfield. In the Super Regional, he had a 2-run walk-off single to send Virginia to the College World Series. Then he hit .292 in the College World Series and went 3-for-4, driving in the eventual game-winning run in Game 2 of the College World Series Finals. After Virginia won, Clement was named to the All-College World Series team.

During his sophomore year, Clement hit .353 and was then selected in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians following his junior year.

On June 13, 2021, Clement made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians.

Towards the end of the 2022 season, the Guardians placed Clement on waivers, and he was claimed by the Oakland A's.

Clement began spring training with the A's in 2023 but was granted his release halfway through the month and was quickly picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2024, Clement became a mainstay in the Blue Jays lineup, primarily at third base, but he's spent time at every infield position over the past 2 seasons. He's currently a finalist for the American League Gold Glove Award at third base, which will be announced following the World Series.

This postseason, Clement's bat has been on fire. He enters the World Series with a .429 batting average, which is the fourth highest in the postseason, trailing only Aaron Judge (.500), Gavin Lux (.500) and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (.442). He hit .643 against the Yankees in the ALDS and .321 against the Mariners in the ALCS. He has set a postseason record among active players, with 18 hits through his first 11 career postseason games. 

Louie Varland went 2-2 on the mound in 9 games for the Utica Blue Sox in 2017. He racked up a team high 51 strikeouts over 44.1 innings, which was tied for the third most strikeouts in the league.

In 3 years at Concordia-St. Paul, Varland had a 10-6 record with a 2.73 ERA and struck out 131 batters over 115.1 innings pitched.

The Minnesota Twins selected Varland in the 15^th round of the 2019 MLB Draft and he made his debut on September 7, 2022.

The Blue Jays acquired Varland on July 31 in a deadline deal with the Twins. He was a key piece out of the bullpen for the Twins and Blue Jays this season as he appeared in 74 games with a 2.97 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 72.2 innings.

This is the second time Louie Varland has appeared in the postseason as he first made 2 appearances out of the bullpen with the Twins in 2023. In this postseason, Varland has already appeared in 10 games. He pitched in all four games of the ALDS against the Yankees and in six of the seven games against the Mariners in the ALCS. He held opposing batters to a .195 average and recorded 13 strikeouts while allowing just 1 walk over his 11 innings pitched this postseason.

While the Blue Jays sport the two PGCBL alumni who are appearing in the World Series this year, they are two of eight alumni to appear on playoff rosters in this postseason. Those players include Matt Shaw (Amsterdam) and Caleb Thielbar (Mohawk Valley) for the Chicago Cubs, Tim Herrin (Amsterdam) for the Cleveland Guardians, Mark Leiter Jr. (Amsterdam) and Ryan Yarbrough (Utica) for the New York Yankees, and Nick Pivetta (Glens Falls) for the San Diego Padres. It's also worth mentioning that Louie's brother, Gus Varland, is a pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks and also pitched for the Utica Blue Sox during the summer of 2016.  

Games 1 and 2 of the World Series are Friday and Saturday in Toronto. Games 3, 4 and 5 will be Monday-Wednesday in Los Angeles and Games 6 and 7 will be in Toronto next Friday and Saturday.