JamesMcCann34 & privileges of being a Hog-UPDATED 3/25

[john]

My family & I were at NYY vs Tigers today. My 7-yr old & I decided our goal was to get former Hogs catcher James McCann's autograph if we could. Immediately after the game, rain was starting to pour, & 30-40 Yankees & Tigers players were running off the field towards their locker rooms down the rightfield line, not paying any attention to all the kids pleading for autographs. I called McCann's name & yelled "Go Hogs" & held up a UofA flag for him to see. He immediately makes a left turn & deadheads for us, signs a ball for my boy & my flag, & then bolts on to the locker room. He took his time signing both the ball & flag for us in the rain, signed his name, WPS!, & Mark 10:27 very neatly. Then took off to the locker rooms with the rest of the players.

Needless to say, James McCann made today's trip to the game special for me & my boy. If any of u guys are twitterers, please tweet him at JamesMcCann34 & tell him a big thank you for taking time in the rain today to sign for 2 huge Hog baseball fans. He showed the rest of that crowd around us how special it is to be a Razorback

[Dr. Starcs]

James is all class.

His twin boys were born recently and were in the hospital for quite a while. I think everyone is doing well now.

[john]

Glad to hear that. I didn't know anything about his twins.

We're going to see Cardinals & Marlins tomorrow & hope we get a chance to see Brian Anderson play, maybe even get his autograph

[clew]

awesome story!

[Hawgey-Davidson]

awesome story!

This^

[woodrow hog call]

Great story, he is one of my all time favorite Hogs, he was the type that lived like he believed in the scripture he wrote. Awesome that you and your son got to see and talk with him.

We prayed for one and we've been blessed with two! McCann twin boys coming in February! #McCannHitADouble #BatteryMates #McCannTwins

[gmarv54]

nice story thanks for sharing.

[john]

Great day today. Missed getting Brian Anderson's autograph but he did start & played 3rd base until about the 6th inning for the Marlins. He looks good & has pretty good stats this spring. He might be one of the best Marlins' players this year. I was impressed with him

But other than the disappointment of not getting to yell Woo Pig to BA, we had a great day watching the Cardinals beat the Marlins. My 7 & 9 year-old boys got 3 baseballs total & 3 Cardinal autographs: Mgr. Mike Matheny, Adam Wainwright, & Matt Carpenter. This adds to the 3 balls we got at Yankees vs Tigers on Tuesday. My oldest got NYY Mgr. Aaron Boone  & Tyler Wade (Yankees' 2nd baseman) & my youngest got Aaron Boone & then James McCann to sign after the game.

Tomorrow, we're on to Sarasota to see the Red Sox play the Orioles. I bet u can guess who we're chasing after tomorrow. That Beni-something guy. We've got seats not far from the Bosox dugout so maybe we'll get lucky. Gonna try to get our Hog Hats signed. Last I saw, Jalen Beeks was with the Sox also. We will try to get him too if he's still with them. Either way, we want to let those guys
know that there are some Razorbacks in the crowd that are still pulling for them to be successful as pros.

Thanks for the comments guys. 2 games down, 3 to go on our 2018 Spring  Training Odyssey. I'll keep reporting good news if we have some

[john]

Just found where Jalen Beeks was optioned to Pawtucket on 3/11 so I'm assuming he's not with the main club anymore

I forgot that Craig Gentry was still with the Orioles so maybe we can see him tomorrow

[WBOBO]

Great day today. Missed getting Brian Anderson's autograph but he did start & played 3rd base until about the 6th inning for the Marlins. He looks good & has pretty good stats this spring. He might be one of the best Marlins' players this year. I was impressed with him

But other than the disappointment of not getting to yell Woo Pig to BA, we had a great day watching the Cardinals beat the Marlins. My 7 & 9 year-old boys got 3 baseballs total & 3 Cardinal autographs: Mgr. Mike Matheny, Adam Wainwright, & Matt Carpenter. This adds to the 3 balls we got at Yankees vs Tigers on Tuesday. My oldest got NYY Mgr. Aaron Boone  & Tyler Wade (Yankees' 2nd baseman) & my youngest got Aaron Boone & then James McCann to sign after the game.

Tomorrow, we're on to Sarasota to see the Red Sox play the Orioles. I bet u can guess who we're chasing after tomorrow. That Beni-something guy. We've got seats not far from the Bosox dugout so maybe we'll get lucky. Gonna try to get our Hog Hats signed. Last I saw, Jalen Beeks was with the Sox also. We will try to get him too if he's still with them. Either way, we want to let those guys
know that there are some Razorbacks in the crowd that are still pulling for them to be successful as pros.

Thanks for the comments guys. 2 games down, 3 to go on our 2018 Spring  Training Odyssey. I'll keep reporting good news if we have some

Ask Beni-Biceps  if he ever comes back to Arkansas.  I have a Red Sox jersey I was hoping to get autographed by him at Fenway but it was raining and they did not take BP that day so that was ruined.  It has the #40 from his Rookie season on it and I don't know when I'll get the chance again to see him at a game.

[john]

Beni-biceps was a no-show at Red Sox vs Orioles today but Red Sox coach Tom Goodwin told me after today's game that Benny will for sure play tomorrow vs the Yankees in Tampa.

I talked to a lot of Red Sox fans around us in the crowd today & they all LOVE Benintendi & think the world of him so far.

After the game today, We were standing by the Red Sox team bus loading up after the game, wearing Razorback shirts & hats, & a young player for the Sox stopped to sign for my boys. He asks us if we're from Arkansas.  His name is Ryan Scott, he's a young pitcher in the Red Sox organization from NLR & played college ball at UALR. Super nice dude

[john]

For any of y'all watching Yankees vs Red Sox on tv, we've got our Razorback flag draped over the rail down the leftfield line. Benintendi signed 3 baseballs & my Old style Uncle Heavy's Hog Hat before the game   Great day so far

[BroyledNutts]

For any of y'all watching Yankees vs Red Sox on tv, we've got our Razorback flag draped over the rail down the leftfield line. Benintendi signed 3 baseballs & my Old style Uncle Heavy's Hog Hat before the game   Great day so far

Excellent !!! What a trip you're having ... enjoy it for us, post a pic or two ...

[neilj17]

For any of y'all watching Yankees vs Red Sox on tv, we've got our Razorback flag draped over the rail down the leftfield line. Benintendi signed 3 baseballs & my Old style Uncle Heavy's Hog Hat before the game   Great day so far

I was sitting at lunch at jims Razorback pizza in Fort Smith. They had the game on and I happen to look up right when they had you guys on the screen. You could see the hog flag and you and your son. That is awesome. Enjoy.

[john]

Pix from today
1. Benny signing for my boys, and me, before the game
2. Benny at the plate
3. Judge on 2nd, Stanton on 1st, Greg Bird at the plate

[BroyledNutts]

Judge is 8ft tall even from that distance ...

Cool pics - and GREAT weather.

[john]

So far my boys have collected a dozen baseballs from 4 games, & maybe 10-12 autographs from big-league players or coaches. We've had a great time. I highly recommend spring training baseball, especially late March when a lot of the regulars are playing. Tickets are a fraction of the cost of regular season & u have a lot closer access to the players & games.

We've got one more game: tomorrow in Gainesville for Hogs vs Gators. Our seats are in the 3rd row behind home plate. I'm gonna have to b a little more careful how & where I fly the Hog flag at the game tomorrow

[ucahogfan]

Greg Bird at the plate

I always imagine what could have been had he made it to campus.  We lost a ton of good players in 2010 and 2011 to the draft.  Our 2012 Omaha team could have also had the following players:

Justin O'Conner - Would have been our starting SS and maybe our closer.
Jared Lakind - Would have probably been starting in the OF
Robbie Ray - Would have been one of our top arms
Dillon Howard - Probably a top arm out of the pen
Brandon Nimmo - Maybe our starting CF
Greg Bird - Might have started at 1B
Michael Fulmer - Another big time arm

We would have probably won it all with those guys.

[john]

Judge in between Shane Robinson on the right ( don't know who it is on Judge's left). Pic was taken during Yankees BP about 2 hours before the game.

[john]

I didn't know Greg Bird was almost a Razorback! Wow! Wish I had known that today. I spent a lot of time today talking Arkansas baseball connections in the majors to Yankee & Red Sox fans. Wish I knew to tell the Yankee fans that

[ucahogfan]

I didn't know Greg Bird was almost a Razorback! Wow! Wish I had known that today. I spent a lot of time today talking Arkansas baseball connections in the majors to Yankee & Red Sox fans. Wish I knew to tell the Yankee fans that

He was also high school teammates with Kevin Gausman.  Think that is really how he got on the map early on as scouts came to watch Gausman and then stayed for Bird.

[john]

1. My boys with Red Sox prospect Ryan Scott. Scott is from NLR & played at UALR. Super-nice young man. Hope he makes it big.
2. Red Sox outfielder Tate Matheny (son of Cardinals Mgr Mike Matheny)signing for my boys after Orioles game before he got on team bus
3. Yadier Molina warming up before Wednesday's Cards vs Marlins game

[john]

1. Cards Mgr Mike Matheny signing autographs for fans Wednesday
2 & 3. Other shots my wife took of Benny walking towards us to sign & as he got to us

[john]

In the airport on our way home. Disappointing results for yesterday's Hogs game, but still a neat day, seeing the Gator's home field & watching the Hogs.

Pic #1: Hog Recruit Tyler Isenberg from Florida   He was at the game with his family   Super-nice kid & family   His dad told me about why they picked Arkansas. DVH & Vitello had seen him at some showcase, liked him, & made contact with him.  The family made a 15-hour drive to Fayetteville to check things out, rolling in late, like 9pm, they called Vitello & he says meet me at Baum. Gets Tyler on the field & turns on the lights & they were amazed at the facility. After DVH & coaches spending g a lot of time with them that visit & putting zero pressure on them, as they were driving away, Tyler tells his family this is it, I do t want to leave. They understand the difference in Razorback baseball being supported by 1000s of fans at our games compared to the Gators who have a great program & do good to draw a couple thousand maybe  They mentioned this as a big factor in Tyler's decision.

Pic 2: Trevor Stephan at the game. He was there with Jax Biggers' mom (super nice lady) who said Trevor & Jax were roommates last year.  Was great (especially since my oldest is a Yankee fan) to meet Trevor & he signed a ball for the boys. Said he expects to start the season in High-A ball.

We had a fantastic time. Spring training baseball is the best. If you've got young children interested in the game it can't be beat for access to players & autographs for the kids. I think I stated before, we've got a dozen or more baseballs, numerous autographs, & lots of pics of the boys & some of their MLB or Hog heroes. Can't wait until we can come back. I think my boss is gonna want a little more beach & a little less baseball next time though.

GO HOGS GO!!