FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 2023 Major League Baseball season begins Thursday across the country, but there are two teams to watch to check out former FGCU baseball talent in action.
 
The Boston Red Sox sport three former Eagles on their pitching staff – seven-time All-Star Chris Sale, veteran Kutter Crawford and Boston newcomer Richard Bleier. The Red Sox trio share the Fenway Park clubhouse when the team takes on the Orioles at 2:10 p.m. on NESN.
 
Across the country in Seattle, former FGCU standout Pete Woodworth enters his fourth year as the Mariners pitching coach after winning the Baseball America MLB Coach of the Year last season. Woodworth's staff faces the Guardians at home at 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network.
 
Here's a look at FGCU's MLB players for 2023:
 

Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox / Pitcher)

Sale enters his seventh season with the Boston Red Sox and 12^th overall in the MLB. Through his first 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, Sale has recorded a 114-75 win-loss record while striking out 2,064 batters. Sale helped lead the Red Sox to become World Series champions in 2018 against the Dodgers.
 
The left-handed pitcher has been named an All-Star seven times (2012-2018) during his career and was the American League strikeout leader in 2015 and 2017. Sale currently holds the MLB record for fastest to 2,000 strikeouts, doing so in 1,626 innings and as of 2022, he is the MLB career leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.33).
 
Sale is looking to make a comeback after only playing in eleven games over the past two seasons, pitching in 47.4 innings for the Red Sox. During Sale's first three seasons in Boston, he pitched in 84 games with a win-loss record of 35-23 that recording a .603-win percentage. In 2018, Sale led the Red Sox to their ninth World Series title, recording 12 of the team's 108-54 victories.
 
Before moving to Boston, Sale spent his first seven years in the MLB with the Chicago White Sox who drafted him with the 13^th overall pick in 2010. During his seven-year tenure with the White Sox Sale played in 228 games starting 148 and recording a win-loss record of 74-50.
 
Sale was a member of the Green & Blue's baseball team from 2008-2010 where he appeared in 51 games, pitching 226.2 innings with a win-loss record of 20-4 and striking out 291 batters over his three years as an Eagle. He is a member of the inaugural class of the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame.
 

Richard Bleier (Boston Red Sox / Pitcher)

Bleier joins the Boston Red Sox for the 2023 MLB season after being traded from the Miami Marlins on Jan. 30. In his first seven years, Bleier has been a member of the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and the Miami Marlins.
 
During his three years in Miami, Bleier made 142 appearances while going 6-5 and striking out 83 batters in 121.4 innings. Before joining the Marlins, Bleier pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 2017-2020 where he appeared in 143 games and recording a win-loss record of 8-1 over four years.
 
Bleier began his career in the MLB for the New York Yankees in 2016, when he was called up after eight years in the minor leagues. The left-handed pitcher played in 23 games for the Yankees, pitching in 23 innings, and striking out 13 batters during his first year in the majors. Bleier spent his first eight years in the minor leagues after being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
 
Bleier spent three years as an Eagle, appearing in 46 games for the Green & Blue where he pitched in 209.2 innings and struck out 181 batters. He was a 2022 inductee into the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame.
 

Kutter Crawford (Boston Red Sox / Pitcher)

Crawford enters his third season with the Boston Red Sox, playing in 22 games over his first two years with the organization that drafted him in the 16^th round back in 2017. Crawford appeared in 21 games last season, starting 12 while pitching in a total of 77.1 innings, and striking out 77 batters.
 
Crawford was a member of the Eagles' during the 2017 season, where he stepped on the mound in 15 games for FGCU. As a junior for the Green & Blue, Crawford went 7-1 as an Eagle, pitching 84 innings, and striking out 99 batters on the year.
 

Pete Woodworth (Seattle Mariners / Pitching Coach)

Woodworth enters his fourth year with the Seattle Mariners after being named the pitching coach in 2019. Woodworth began his MLB coaching career in 2016 for the Mariner's minor league system. In 2019, he was named the 2019 Texas League Coach of the Year after helping the Arkansas Travelers to an 81-57 overall record.
 
Woodworth's Mariners staff went 90–72 in 2022 with 40 saves and a 3.59 ERA, setting a single-season franchise record with 1,391 strikeouts – earning him Baseball America's MLB Coach of the Year honors.
 
Before becoming a coach in the minor leagues, Woodworth returned to FGCU as their pitching coach. As a player, Woodworth spent the 2010 season with the GCL Rays after going undrafted. In college, he was a member of the Green & Blue from 2007-2010 where he stepped on the mound in 65 games for the Eagles. In four years for FGCU, Woodworth recorded a win-loss record of 25-9 while pitching in 272.2 innings and striking out 261 batters.
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE 
Tickets for the 2023 FGCU baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations. 
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow! 
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness. 
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 96 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 48 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 19 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.67 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
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