Former OEC Pitchers Win World Series with Royals

Kris Medlen (left) and Jason Vargas (right) recently won the World Series with the Kansas City Royals. Medlen played at Santa Ana College and Vargas played at Cypress College.
Kris Medlen (left) and Jason Vargas (right) recently won the World Series with the Kansas City Royals. Medlen played at Santa Ana College and Vargas played at Cypress College.
Posted: Nov 03, 2015

Former Santa Ana College pitcher Kris Medlen and former Cypress College pitcher Jason Vargas are World Series Champions after the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets 7-2 in a 12 inning thriller last night.

Medlen signed with the team in the offseason and made his debut with the Kansas City Royals just after the All Star break. He appeared in 15 games with a 6-2 record and made two appearances for the Royals in the postseason. His second appearance came in game three of the World Series when he pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts.

Medlen was a student-athlete at SAC in 2006 when he started for the Dons baseball team as the everyday shortstop. He was also the team's closer and set a SAC record with 16 saves. Along with his success on the mound, he batted .332 with eight doubles, five triples and 10 home runs. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves out of SAC in the 10th round as the 310th pick.

Vargas began his college career at Louisiana State University in 2002 before transferring to Cypress College. As a Charger, Vargas pitched to an 11-3 record with a 3.10 ERA and 101 strikeouts. Vargas was the recipient of the 2003 Southern California Player of the Year Award and led the Chargers to their fourth State Championship title. He batted .414 with 7 RBI and pitched to a 2-1 record while hurling 21 strikeouts in 19 innings during the Chargers State Tournament run. His impactful performance earned him Co-MVP of 2003 State Championship tournament. Vargas would move on to play for Long Beach State the following season.

Jason Vargas was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 2004 (2nd Round, 68th overall) and made his Major League debut on July 14, 2005. He went on to pitch for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and the Los Angeles Angels before landing with the Royals in 2014. Vargas compiled a 5-2 record with a 3.98 ERA for the Royals this past season. He currently holds a career record of 67-70 with a 4.20 ERA.

Vargas is a member of the Chargers Hall of Fame and is one of our 18 alumni to make it to the MLB.