COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball standout SS Dave Silvestri will be honored as part of the 2017 AT&T SEC Baseball Legends Class, announced Wednesday by the Southeastern Conference. Silvestri and honorees from three other SEC schools are set for recognition at this month’s SEC Tournament, scheduled for May 23-28 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. One of the all-time Mizzou greats, Silvestri is the second Mizzou Baseball alum to earn SEC Legend distinction after Gene McArtor in 2013.
A two-time First Team All-American, Silvestri was a standout shortstop under Coach McArtor from 1986-88 and guided Mizzou to its first NCAA Regional appearance since 1981 as a junior during his final season with the program in 1988. He is the only player in school history to earn All-America First Team in two separate seasons. Silvestri remains one of the most decorated players to ever come through the Mizzou Baseball program. In addition to earning All-America honors in both 1987 and 1988, he was a two-time All-Big Eight selection, a two-time All-District V selection, and a 1988 All-Big Eight Tournament Team member.
After guiding Mizzou to the NCAA South Regional with 42 wins in 1988, Silvestri played with USA Baseball in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. That team won the Gold Medal as Silvestri played along the likes of Tino Martinez, Jim Abbott, Andy Benes and Robin Ventura. Silvestri was drafted in the second round of the 1988 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Houston Astros. He played 181 games over eight seasons in the big leagues, including 86 games with the Montreal Expos in 1996. His first National League hit was a run-scoring, pinch-hit single against his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, at old Busch Stadium, in 1995.
One cannot look at the Mizzou Baseball record book without seeing Silvestri’s name all over it. He still holds the school single season records for slugging percentage (.849 in 1988), runs scored (89 in 1988), extra-base hits (47 in 1988) and total bases (186 in 1988). His .379 career batting average is fourth in program history and his .660 career slugging percentage is second all-time. His 18 career triples are a school record.
Silvestri ranks in Mizzou’s all-time career top 10 in 11 different categories: batting (fourth – .379), hits (sixth – 248), triples (first – 18), homers (seventh – 35), RBI (ninth – 167), runs scored (fifth – 206), extra-base hits (four – 96), total bases (fourth – 432), slugging (second – .660), stolen bases (fifth – 47) and on-base percentage (fifth – .465).
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Silvestri was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and was widely considered the greatest Missouri Baseball player of his era.
— Mizzou Athletics —