All-Time MLB Players From Louisiana: Chad Ogea

There have been a number of individuals from Lafayette, and the Acadiana area, that have played in Major League Baseball over the years.

Obviously, the entire state of Louisiana has produced even more.

As a matter of fact, 246 people born in the state of Louisiana have appeared in a Major League Baseball game, beginning in 1874, with John Peters of New Orleans, who played 11 years, with the likes of the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Grays, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, and Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

All summer, we’ll preview a player from the state of Louisiana that appeared in Major League baseball, starting with players from Lafayette, before spotlighting players from the Acadiana area, and then a few from the state itself.

Yesterday, we spotlighted Pat Rapp.

Today, we feature Chad Ogea.

Born in Lake Charles in 1970, Ogea, a right-handed pitcher, played parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball, with the Cleveland Indians (1994-1998) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1999).

After playing his high school baseball at St. Louis High School, and then his college baseball at LSU, Ogea was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 3rd round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Ogea made minor league stops in Kinston, North Carolina, Canton-Akron, Ohio, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Buffalo, New York, before getting called up to the big leagues by the Indians in May of 1994, at the age of 23.

In his major league debut, on May 3, 1994, Ogea 2.1 pitched against the Chicago White Sox, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs.

Ogea went on to go 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA. over 16.1 innings pitched in 1994, his first taste of Major League Baseball.

In 1995, his first extended stay in the big leagues, Ogea appeared in 20 games, including 14 as a starter, going 8-3 with a 3.05 ERA. over 106.1 innings pitched.

Ogea had another solid season in 1996, winning 10 of his 16 decisions, before going 8-9 in 1997, and 5-4 in 1998, his final year with the Indians.

His final big league game was on October 2 of 1999, against the Montreal Expos.

Cleveland traded Ogea to the Philadelphia Phillies, in exchange for Jerry Spradlin, prior to the 1999 season, where he went 6-12 with a 5.63 ERA. in his final year in MLB.

In 9 seasons in the minor leagues, Ogea went 46-31 with a 3.96 ERA.

In 10 MLB seasons, Ogea went 37-35 with a 3.88 ERA., while allowing 672 hits and 343 earned runs over 632.2 innings pitched.