Noteworthy MLB names in the NFHS Record Book

You can find hundreds upon hundreds of names in the NFHS Record Book's baseball section. Very few of those individuals ever made it to the Major Leagues.

We went through the book and found names of 10 guys who have become noteworthy players and managers in the Big Leagues in recent memory. While other players with pro experience are listed in the book, we went with 10 whose service was more recent.


Mike Moustakas - Chatsworth (Calif.)





"The Moose" was indeed on the loose during his senior season at the Los Angeles City Section powerhouse, raking 24 home runs in 2007. That's tied for 12th in the most home runs in a season category.

Moustakas plays third base for the Kansas City Royals, after going straight to pro ball after high school and getting picked No. 2 overall by the Royals. He's having a brutally tough year, hitting .199, but in parts of four MLB seasons he has 51 homers.
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Josh Collmenter - Homer (Mich.)



Collmenter was a star at Homer High, especially during his senior season in 2004. His name appears in the shutouts in a season category, tied for second with 13 shutouts. That helped propel him into the career shutouts category, where he is tied for third with 23 from 2001-04.

He's currently a starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and has also had stints as a reliever in Arizona, the only place he's played as a big-leaguer. His four-year MLB career has featured a 28-24 record with a 3.58 ERA, and he finally secured his first MLB shutout with a three-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on May 29 of this year.
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Nate McLouth - Whitehall (Mich.)





McLouth got his name in the record book with his lightning-fast speed in high school. Between 1997 and 2000, he stole 180 bases for Whitehall. That total ranks eighth all-time.

His MLB career has featured injury issues, but also one spectacular season. In 2008 he was an All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates, smacking 46 doubles and 26 homers with 23 steals. He's currently with the Washington Nationals, and has 131 career steals in the big leagues.
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Don Mattingly - Evansville Memorial (Ind.)



Mattingly was hardly known as a speedy player during his professional career, but from 1976-79 he smacked 25 triples as a prep and that is tied for ninth all-time.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' fourth-year manager was a star for the New York Yankees for 14 seasons, racking up 2,153 hits and six All-Star Game berths. In 1,785 games as a big-leaguer, he totaled 20 triples.
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Terry Francona - New Brighton (Pa.)





The man who took the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles and currently manages the Cleveland Indians had a whale of a season for New Brighton in 1976, finishing with a .769 batting average. That ranks third (minimum 50 at-bats) all-time for a single season.

Francona is 1,180-1,044 as a manager and he hit .274 as a bench player over the course of 10 seasons with the Expos, Cubs, Reds, Indians and Brewers.
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David Wells - Point Loma (San Diego)



Wells was on a big roll in 1982 at Point Loma when he managed to toss six consecutive shutouts. That total is tied for sixth all-time.

He was a star and a solid starting pitcher for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers, Reds, Orioles, White Sox, Red Sox, Padres and Dodgers with a 211-133 career record and a perfect game to his name. In 21 years in the big leagues, Wells threw 12 shutouts, including a league-high five in 1998.
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Micah Owings - Gainesville (Ga.) and Forsyth Central (Cumming, Ga.)





Owings was an absolute slugger in high school. He split his career between two schools but managed to blast 69 home runs from 1999-2002, good enough for fourth all-time. His name is found again in the record book in the consecutive games with a home run category, where he is tied for seventh with a streak of eight games.

He came up as a pitcher, though, and went 32-33 in six years at the big league level with a shutout and a save. What made him noteworthy, though, was his penchant for slugging as a pitcher (he hit nine homers). When arm trouble struck in 2012, he decided to try and work as an outfielder. He's currently in AA after arm troubles.
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Dave Clark - Shannon (Miss.)



Clark had one of the best hitting seasons in high school history in 1980, hitting .749 for Shannon. That average ranks as the eighth-best for a season all-time.

Clark is currently the third-base coach for the Detroit Tigers, and in 2009 he served as the interim manager for the Houston Astros. He played for the Pirates, Indians, Cubs, Royals, Dodgers and Astros, building up 518 hits and a .264 average.
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Preston Wilson - Bamberg-Ehrhardt (Bamberg, S.C.)





Wilson was a big-time powerhouse slugger in high school, and his name shows up three times in the record book. In fact, his career was grand. Wilson leads the nation with seven grand slams in the 1992 season, and his career total of eight grand slams is tied for second all-time, posted from 1989-92. That 1992 season, where he hit the seven grand slams, featured 86 RBIs and that total is eighth all-time.

He smacked 189 homers and drove in 668 runs in a 10-year MLB career. In 2003, he led the National League with 141 RBIs and earned his only All-Star Game berth. Fans of the Miami Marlins definitely know Wilson well, as he played 588 games for the franchise and serves as a television analyst in Miami.
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Jason Kendall - Torrance (Calif.)



Kendall wrote his name in the record book with a 43-game hitting streak in 1992. That's good for 10th-best all-time.

Kendall was one of the best catchers in baseball, rapping 2,195 hits in 15 seasons. He retired after the 2010 season playing for the Kansas City Royals, but made his name with the Pirates, reaching three All-Star Games in nine seasons. He's currently an instructor for the Royals organization.