Ernie De La Trinidad {UNLV Athletics Photo]
2020 would have been the 10th season of the Ohio Valley League and the ninth season for the Hoptown Hoppers. Both are expected to return strong in 2021 after COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the 2020 season.
YourSportsEdge.com has dug into the archives to present the Hoptown Hoppers All-Decade Team for 2012-19.
Outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad played for the Hoppers in 2015. He led the Ohio Valley League in hits (60) and stolen bases (16).
He ranks fifth in Hopper history with 180 plate appearances in a season, and batting average (.373). His 60 hits in 2015 is second only to Andrew Gross’ 61 hits in 2016. De La Trinidad holds the Hopper single season record for singles (44).
De La Trinidad transferred to UNLV after two years at Central Arizona College where he was a 2016 NJCCA Division II All-American as well as a First Team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference selection.
In 2017, De La Trinidad was named Second Team All Mountain West Conference after tying for team lead in multiple-hit games with 22, nine of which were three-hit games. He also owned one of the longest reached-base streaks in the country at 43 games
He was drafted in the 19th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. De La Trinidad hit .297 in Rookie ball that season at Missoula.
He was batting. 311 for Class A Kane County in 2018 when he was part of a four-player trade deadline deal that sent shortstop Eduardo Escobar from Minnesota to Arizona. Escobar hit 35 home runs and drove in 118 runs for Arizona in 2019.
De La Trinidad finished the 2019 season at Double-A Pensacola and was assigned to Minnesota’s spring training camp in 2020 before COVID-19 paused the season.
De La Trinidad is a career .279 hitter in 263 minor league games.
