St. John's University Athletics
Former SJU Standout Rich Aurilia to Start for National League in All-Star Game Tonight
7/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aurilia, who starred for the Red Storm from 1990-92, is only the second St. Johns player to start in the MLB All-Star game, but is the first positional player. He joins Frank Viola (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow), who pitched at St. Johns from 1979-81, and starred for the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets. Viola, who was named Most Valuable Player of the 1987 World Series, started the 1988 All-Star Game for the American League.
He finished his career at St. Johns with a career average of .321 (156-for-486). Aurilia still ranks among the top-10 in Red Storm baseball history in home runs (16) and doubles (33).
As a freshman in 1990, he was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year after batting .303 (46-for-152) with nine doubles, three triples, three home runs and 23 RBI. The Red Storms leadoff hitter, Aurilia finished second on the team with 33 runs and sixth on the team with 46 hits as the team finished 29-18.
During his sophomore season, when the team finished 34-14-1 and finished as the BIG EAST Tournament runner-ups, Aurilia hit .335 (58-for-173) with five home runs and 34 RBI. He was the starting shortstop in 45 games, earning first-team All-BIG EAST honors and leading the Red Storm to an NCAA Regional appearance, where he was named to the NCAA Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team.
In his final season, Aurilia batted .321 (52-for-161) with 12 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 38 RBI, leading the Red Storm to a 30-13 record.
Aurilia was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 1992 and traded to the Giants in 1994. He rose from Double A Shreveport to Triple A Phoenix, before being called up to the major league team for the final nine games of the season.
Aurilia has been a regular in the San Francisco lineup since 1996. In the last two seasons, he has firmly entrenched himself as the teams starting shortstop. At the break, Aurilia is batting .356, with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 38 RBI.
