Spring Break
Shofner keeps jersey magic going with big numbers
By: Brad Cox
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Sports
The jersey No. 1 has carried a special significance in the Texas A&M dugout in recent years.
Second baseman Parker Dalton hit .356 as a senior in 2007 wearing the number. Third baseman Dane Carter carried on the legacy in 2009 when he batted .371 and slugged a Big-12 leading nine triples.
"I'm good friends with those two guys and I still talk to them," said third baseman Caleb Shofner, who is wearing the number in 2009. "I like the No. 1, so I wanted to go ahead and get that number."
When the Aggies started the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, A&M's No. 1 player on the field was Shofner. Five games into the season, the sophomore from Hewitt, Texas, was batting .917 and had a .947 on base percentage.
He redshirted as a freshman in 2007 and played in 18 games for A&M Head Coach Rob Childress in 2008. Wearing the No. 40 his freshman season, Shofner batted .214.
Shofner, a New York Yankees fan, has let his batting average slip in the previous six games, but is still batting .538. Against Rice during the Houston College Classic this past week, Shofner was one of three players to reach base.
"I'm just playing every day like it's my last," Shofner said. "This is one of the greatest opportunities to get out here and play college baseball every day. I'm living the dream, not a lot of people get to do this."
The ballplayer has pulled the Olsen Field fans into the mix with his non-traditional walk-up song. Shofner walks to the plate to "The Blood Of Cu Chulainn" from the movie "The Boondock Saints."
When the Irish jig starts playing on the speakers, students step dance to the tune.
"I wanted something that had never been done before, something out of the ordinary," Shofner said. "I've got a little bit of Irish in me, so I went ahead and picked that. It's kind of relaxing. I want to be relaxed when I'm at the plate, I don't want to be all hyped up."
Every player on the A&M ball club has a role, whether it's contact hitter, defensive player or power hitter. The players expected to do everything and be leaders are called ballplayers.
"He's a ballplayer," Childress said about Shofner. "He's got to find a way to help us win every day whether its laying down a bunt or making a great play defensively, moving a runner, or hitting over .500 which helps in that capacity."
The No. 7 Aggies (9-2), ranked by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, will take on Utah (4-4) in a three-game series beginning on Saturday. The series is A&M's final non-conference series before playing Baylor on March 13.
"We're acting like this series is our conference opener," Shofner said. "It's very important."
Second baseman Parker Dalton hit .356 as a senior in 2007 wearing the number. Third baseman Dane Carter carried on the legacy in 2009 when he batted .371 and slugged a Big-12 leading nine triples.
"I'm good friends with those two guys and I still talk to them," said third baseman Caleb Shofner, who is wearing the number in 2009. "I like the No. 1, so I wanted to go ahead and get that number."
When the Aggies started the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, A&M's No. 1 player on the field was Shofner. Five games into the season, the sophomore from Hewitt, Texas, was batting .917 and had a .947 on base percentage.
He redshirted as a freshman in 2007 and played in 18 games for A&M Head Coach Rob Childress in 2008. Wearing the No. 40 his freshman season, Shofner batted .214.
Shofner, a New York Yankees fan, has let his batting average slip in the previous six games, but is still batting .538. Against Rice during the Houston College Classic this past week, Shofner was one of three players to reach base.
"I'm just playing every day like it's my last," Shofner said. "This is one of the greatest opportunities to get out here and play college baseball every day. I'm living the dream, not a lot of people get to do this."
The ballplayer has pulled the Olsen Field fans into the mix with his non-traditional walk-up song. Shofner walks to the plate to "The Blood Of Cu Chulainn" from the movie "The Boondock Saints."
When the Irish jig starts playing on the speakers, students step dance to the tune.
"I wanted something that had never been done before, something out of the ordinary," Shofner said. "I've got a little bit of Irish in me, so I went ahead and picked that. It's kind of relaxing. I want to be relaxed when I'm at the plate, I don't want to be all hyped up."
Every player on the A&M ball club has a role, whether it's contact hitter, defensive player or power hitter. The players expected to do everything and be leaders are called ballplayers.
"He's a ballplayer," Childress said about Shofner. "He's got to find a way to help us win every day whether its laying down a bunt or making a great play defensively, moving a runner, or hitting over .500 which helps in that capacity."
The No. 7 Aggies (9-2), ranked by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, will take on Utah (4-4) in a three-game series beginning on Saturday. The series is A&M's final non-conference series before playing Baylor on March 13.
"We're acting like this series is our conference opener," Shofner said. "It's very important."
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