Former Oceanside LLWS Star Retires From Pro Baseball

In 2001, we were all fans of Oceanside. 

The little darlings in Green and Gold made it all the way to the semifinals of the Little League World Series, before bowing out a New York team led by the unhittable (and later found to be much older) Danny Almonte. 

One of the stars of that memorable team, Matt Cerda, recently retired from his professional baseball career, according to U-T San Diego. 

Cerda was drafted in the fourth round by the Chicago Cubs in 2008 after a great career at Oceanside High School. He rose slowly through the ranks of the Cubs system, according to the paper, even earning All-Star nods in the Midwest League as an outfielder in 2010, and in the Florida State League in 2011.

However, much like many athletes, injuries and inconsistency began to take their toll on Cerda. 

After being picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals in the Rule V draft last year, Cerda was supposed to play third base for the Memphis Redbirds, but that never happened, according to the paper. 

The recently retired 23-year-old has come back to Oceanside, where he plans on enrolling at Cal State San Marcos to study business.

“I’m absolutely comfortable with my decision,” Cerda told U-T San Diego. “The minor leagues are a grind. The bus rides are a killer. I’m still only 23, and didn’t want to become a career minor leaguer.”