Montclair, NJ – Former three-time All-American and 1989 NCAA Division III Player of the Year John Deutsch reached the pinnacle for collegiate baseball players as he was selected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Deutsch becomes the first Montclair State player to be elected and will be inducted as a part of a virtual College Baseball Night of Champions ceremony later this month. Three-time All-American and Boston Red Sox great Jason Varitek and former coach Jim Morris, who led 13 teams to the College World Series and won two national championships headline the Class of 2020.
The greatest player to wear a Montclair State uniform, Deutsch played from 1986-89 and was a three-time, First-Team All-American in addition to earning three All-Region accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The left-handed slugger from Phillipsburg, N.J. was named to the All-NJAC First Team twice.
Deutsch joined Montclair State in 1986 and helped the then-Indians to a third consecutive NCAA Mid-Atlantic and Word Series appearance winning the Mid-Atlantic Regional Most Valuable Player award. He batted .328 with seven home runs and 28 RBI. The following season, he put together a campaign that still resonates throughout the record books to this day.
Appearing in 49 games, Deutsch would earn the first of his All-American accolades and led Montclair to its first NCAA Division III championship. He batted .389 and belted a school-record and Division III-leading 22 home runs while also driving in record 77 RBI. Deutsch recorded 74 hits, scored 63 times, and had slugging and on-base percentages of .816 and .484, respectively. He proved to be clutch in the postseason batting .526 with three home runs and 10 RBI as the World Series in Marietta, OH. Deutsch had two home runs in the championship-clinching victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh and was chosen as the tournament MVP.
In 1988, Deutsch moved to first base and continued to flourish at the plate. He hit .419 smacking 19 doubles along with 13 home runs and 61 runs batted in. Deutsch, who collected his second All-America honor, slugged over .800 for the second consecutive year and had an on-base percentage of .542, drawing 46 walks with 51 runs scored.
His final season in an MSU uniform proved to be his best as Deutsch raised his batting average to .429 and set season records for walks (62) slugging (.851) and on-base percentage (.587). The 6-5 power hitter blasted 16 home runs and drove in 70 in addition to recording 15 doubles and 64 runs scored. Deutsch was named First-Team All-NJAC, ABCA Mid-Atlantic Region and All-America. He capped his season with the ABCA's NCAA Division III Player of the Year award.
Elected to the MSU Athletic Hall Fame in 1999, Deutsch finished his career 252 hits, 207 runs scored, 46 doubles, 58 home runs, 236 runs batted in, and a .394 batting average. He walked 160 times and posted a career slugging percentage of .776 and an on-base percentage of .515. Deutsch struck out just 54 times in over 800 plate appearances. He left the program as the all-time leader in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases (496), and walks.
Deutsch was selected in the fifth round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and played five years in the organization.
