Gators Making History

In 2017, the Florida Gators baseball team achieved a feat no other UF ball club had done before them, winning its first College World Series title in school history. 

Gators = CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/LdHmDEUOv8

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 28, 2017

The Gators had a star-studded squad balanced with elite pitching and hitting. 10 players such as JJ Schwartz, Jonathan India, Deacon Liput, and Alex Faedo would eventually sign a professional contract following their historic campaign.

One special player anchored them the most in the NCAA tournament that year: shortstop Dalton Guthrie

Dalton Guthrie

A Sarasota native and Venice High School product, Guthrie was an absolute force at shortstop and at the plate. He led the team with 69 hits on the year, a team-high 23 multi-hit games, and had 6 three-hit games on the season.

Dalton led the Gators in the NCAA tournament with a .280 batting average (14-for

-50) hit a team-best .286 (6-for-21) at the College World Series and was Drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies (173rd overall).

In the field, Dalton Guthrie posted a .960 fielding percentage, earning the nod to the  All-SEC Defensive team.

Minor League Campaign

2017-19: He was first assigned to the Gulf Coast League Phillies, where he played games before quickly being assigned to Class A Lakewood Blue Claws in New Jersey. He came back to Florida in 2019 to play for the Clearwater Threshers in Class A-Advanced ball. 

2021: After no baseball due to COVID in 2020, he continued to develop and become versatile at other positions like third base, middle infield, and any outfield position.

He would play for the Double A Reading Fightin Phils in 2021 and be promoted again to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs where he batted .292 with 13 doubles. 

2022: Guthrie played multiple different positions for the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs , slashing .302 with an on base percentage of .476 in 338 at bats.

The Call Up

September 4, 2022: The Philadelphia Phillies selected his contract and brought him onto the big league roster to make his debut against the Miami Marlins. He batted .333 in 21 at bats with a .500 OBP while starting at 3 different positions.

The Phillies would go on to make a deep playoff run, losing to the Houston Astros in the World Series in 6 games.

 Catch Up with Dalton

I sat down with Dalton Guthrie to catch up with him on his journey since leaving the University of Florida and his experiences as he competes for a roster spot at spring training with the Phillies in Clearwater. Here’s what he had to say!