Coming off a second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Josh Sborz was among six players inducted into the University of Virginia Baseball 2021 Hall of Fame class.
Along with Sborz (2013-15), the 2021 inductees include Steve Bryant (1968-70), Nathan Kirby (2013-15), Branden Kline (2010-12), Mike Papi (2012-14) and LHP Brandon Waddell (2013-15). They joined the likes of Sean Doolittle, Ryan Zimmerman and Chris Taylor, who was part of the 2020 Hall of Fame Class.
Established in the summer of 2017, the Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame has enshrined a total of 28 members, including a 15-member inaugural class at the 2018 Step Up to the Plate event.
In order to be considered for Hall of Fame induction, former student-athletes need to be five years removed from full exhaustion of college eligibility.
Players and coaches were selected based on accolades earned while at the University of Virginia, distinguishing careers in amateur or professional baseball and/or significant contributions through work or service made to the university.
Sborz most notably was part of Virginia’s 2015 National Championship team, where he earned Most Outstanding Player in the 2015 College World Series. His three wins in the tournament tied an all-time record.
He made eight overall appearances in the 2015 College World Series and did not allow a run. In fact, Sborz did not give up a run over the final 27 innings of his college career, including all 13 of his frames in Omaha.
Sborz finished eight of Virginia’s 10 wins in the tournament, including all three regional games, one in super regional and four in the College World Series. He became the fourth pitcher in NCAA history to be part of two shutouts in the same College World Series.
Sborz also became the 11th player to ever earn three wins in one College World Series. Of his 14 career appearances in the tournament, he posted a minuscule 0.51 ERA with six wins and three records — all Virginia records.
In three overall seasons at Virginia (80 games), Sborz went 16-6 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 200 innings pitched, striking out 181 batters. His 17 saves are the sixth most in the school’s history.
How Sborz fared for Dodgers in 2020
Sborz appeared in four games for the Dodgers last season, pitching to a 2.08 ERA, 5.96 FIP and 0.69 WHIP with two strikeouts against one walk across 4.1 innings of work.
In his final appearance of the season on Sept. 13, Sborz logged his longest outing of the year against the Colorado Rockies, retiring all four batters faced on just 12 pitches.
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