The Razorbacks just finished the inaugural Frisco Classic, but Arkansas has committed to returning to the event in 2021, Dave Van Horn told me today. Here is a look at the Razorbacks’ big early-season trips in coming years:
2018 at Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego (will include Arizona, Michigan, San Diego State and others)
2019 at Southern Cal in Los Angeles (this is a return trip for USC coming to Arkansas in 2018; the Razorbacks may also take a second road trip that year to avoid a scheduling conflict with the NCAA indoor championships, which Arkansas might host)
2020 at Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston (this will be the Razorbacks’ third trip to the event at MinuteMaid Park, home of the Astros)
2021 at Frisco Classic (will include teams from Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12)
Matt it will only help the program to go against quality competiton and gain exposure! I lik want Coach Vanhorn does with our hogs! We have been extremely lucky to have such great men lead our baseball programs for years.
I have some advice for the folks who are in charge of that tournament. They need to start the afternoon games at 1:00 PM or 2:00 PM and the night cap at 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM. Saturday night in Frisco was brutal for fans of Nebraska and Arkansas. There was absolutely no reason for us to suffer like that.
As Phil noted on the radio, this was the first time that those folks had hosted a college tournament. I suspect that they will learn from this year’s experience.
They will figure it out in Frisco. The best thing they can do is listen to the college coaches coming to the event. They will get them going the right direction. Can’t be playing that late or folks won’t buy their tickets. I started to go to the event. Glad I didn’t now with the way that Saturday night game played out.
I will say, we still had a super time. That’s a fabulous ballpark with 100% chair back seats (same as Baum), great concessions and a good vibe. The weather was the worst part of it, but since I’m about to enter my personal “hell” (hot weather) soon, I didn’t mind the cool temperatures at all . . . just the continual drizzle.
That aside, my group was there all 3 days. For some of them, it was their first time to see Razorback baseball. These are my cronies from Football and Basketball watch parties. One or two of them had gone with me to Baum for some games, but most were at the U of A before Baseball was like it is now and didn’t “grow up” with it. To this point, they haven’t been motivated to go back for any games. But they are true Hog fans, and when they found out the Baseball team would be playing in our back yard, they bought tickets and came. They found out how enjoyable it can be to watch your favorite team in the relaxed environment that baseball affords. So, I think going on the road like this - to Frisco, Houston, Southern California, etc. - will expose some of our fans to the program that have never really paid much attention to it. When you combine that with the RPI/SOS factor, getting good competition before the SEC season starts, and recruiting exposure, it’s a fantastic idea to be so involved in these type tournaments.
My daughter is a Rough Riders fan, second only to the Hogs, who knows a lot of the people at the stadium. She said they were absolutely thrilled with the Hog Fans. This was my first time at the stadium, despite her constant nagging at me to come up, and I have to agree about the stadium being a fabulous place to watch baseball
It is so cool to see what has happened with both college and minor league baseball. It’s affordable and wonderful. Major league baseball has bumped the price outside of my comfort zone. But you can still go to minor league games (and college) and get the same feeling I got growing up as a fan of the Travs. I grew up at Ray Winder Field, just a short walk from where I lived at 1821 Fair Park Blvd. My dad took me and my three brothers to the game every single day they played. We all had a job there. I sold popcorn, peanuts and about anything else. I was also a ball boy on the rough, although my mom didn’t like that. No railing. I also was the kid that got $1 a game to take balls from Reno (the ball man) to the home plate ump. I was about 6 when I did that.
I wish the Travs were still a farm team for the Cardinals watching players like JD Drew , Rick Ankiel , Tom Pagnozzi or even watching the major disappoint of pitcher Chad Hutchinson in Little Rock back 1999-2000 was awesome. After it switched to the Angels and now Seattle Mariners and moving games to North Little Rock at Dickey Stephens Park people in Little Rock feel alot less interested in going to games compared to the late nineties or early 2000s back when it was easy to find a parking spot at Ray Winder Field compared to Dickey Stephens Park and watch minor league players who would eventually play for the St. Louis Cardinals .
The Cardinals made that decision. They preferred having their AA team in Springfield. Now the Angels have moved on as well and LR/NLR is a Mariners farm club. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cards move on from Springfield as well.