Over a dozen players from Hart High School who have made it into Major League Baseball (MLB) were recognized during Game 1 of the 2020 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night.

Joe ⁦@Buck⁩ now knows what so many of us have known. ⁦@HartHighAlum⁩ baseball is definitely a pipeline to the ⁦@MLB⁩ ⁦@HartDistrict⁩ ⁦@FoxSportsWest⁩ pic.twitter.com/nsXET1Hpif

— Dave Caldwell (@DaveCaldwellSCV) October 21, 2020

During the bottom of the third inning of the first game of the 2020 World Series between the Dodgers and the Rays, over a dozen players from Hart High who have made it into the major leagues over the past 55 years were recognized.

“It was an honor for us to be represented,” said Jim Ozella, head coach for Hart High’s baseball program. “All of our guys have worked real hard to reach the goals that they are achieving.”

Broadcasters displayed a picture of a plaque located at Hart High that lists the players from the school who have made it into the MLB. These names ranged from 1974 graduate Bob Walk, who started and won Game 1 of the 1980 World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies, to 2011 graduate Tyler Glasnow, who made his World Series debut Tuesday with Tampa Bay.

“It’s just a culmination of a lot of work and a lot of effort,” Ozella said. “He’s made it through a lot of trials, and now he’s at that level that we all strive for. Playing in the World Series is what it’s all about.”

Glasnow was the starting pitcher for the Rays on Tuesday, and threw over 100 pitches in the first five innings of the game. He had previously started series-clinching games in the Wild Card Round and the American League Division Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, respectively.

Between the Rays’ ALDS Championship victory and Game 1 of the 2020 World Series, Ozella said that he texted Glasnow, telling him to “enjoy the moment, and get ready for the next one.”

“When it’s one of our guys, you’ve got to root for them,” he said. “Now he’s a man, and a great role-model for our kids.”

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Ozella said that regularly keeps in contact with former Hart High players, offering them the encouragement and advice that they may need.

“I try not to bother them too much, I know that their time is very valuable and they’re men now,” he said. “But I’ll text them just to let them know that somebody is on their side.”

While the Hart High School baseball program has produced a number of major leaguers over the years, Glasnow now joins the more exclusive group of Hart alumni to play in a World Series, with the most recent appearance coming from Trevor Bauer and Mike Montgomery who faced off in the 2016 World Series.

“We’re tradition-driven,” Ozella said. “A lot of our success is tradition, with guys one after the other who made it showing the other guys how to do it.”

Ozella recognized that while Glasnow may not be playing for the home team in this series, the Hart High coach was still rooting for the kid he knew years before.

“Santa Clarita is a close community,” he said. “If it was a West Ranch kid, I’d be rooting for them, if it was a Valencia kid, I’d be rooting for them.”

The Dodgers ultimately won Game 1 of the 2020 World Series 8-3 against the Rays, with the two teams set to face off again in Game 2 on Wednesday.

KHTS Sports is your place for 2020 Santa Clarita high school sports and Los Angeles Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.

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