The Sun Devil baseball team did not have the ending they wanted to their 2008 season, falling to Fresno State in the super regional.
For many players on the team, though, there was little time to reflect on the loss to the eventual national champion Bulldogs.
A large majority of the ASU team had to head off to various parts of the country to begin their professional careers just weeks after the end of their college season.
Former Sun Devil Greg Bordes is one of those players who spent their summers getting acclimated to life as a professional ballplayer.
Bordes, who was a utility player on last season’s Sun Devil squad, signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is currently playing shortstop for the Yakima Bears, a Class A short-season affiliate of the club located in Washington.
Though he doesn’t garner the same attention as former teammates and first-round draft picks Brett Wallace and Ike Davis, Bordes has used tenacity and his brain for the game to forge his own spot on a professional roster.
It was the same story for Bordes at ASU, where he waited for more than three seasons before finally getting his chance to make an impact for the Devils this year.
Bordes hit .304 with 21 RBIs in 44 games for ASU last season and was a spark defensively down the stretch for the Devils.
He said it is the winning atmosphere and the team camaraderie he misses most about playing at ASU.
“At Arizona State everything is team-oriented,” he said. “I loved it that way because everyone is pulling for one another to do well. It makes the game more enjoyable to play.”
Bordes also said he has had to make an adjustment to a more relaxed dugout and game atmosphere in the minor leagues, where winning isn’t as paramount.
In 31 games for Yakima so far this season, Bordes is hitting .211 with 9 RBIs.
Reach the reporter at: nkosmide@asu.edu.
