This is Hooks Baseball in April

by Matt Rogers

One of the best things about working in baseball is the opportunity to get out of the office every now and then. Whether you work in sales, community or media relations or on the grounds crew, it’s liberating to jet down Port Avenue and enjoy a chamber of commerce day.

Wednesday’s monthly Victoria Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the University of Houston-Victoria afforded Hooks sales rep Justin Sommer and me such a window. About 150 Victoria business, education and government leaders met to hear a presentation by mayor Will Armstrong. Chamber president/CEO Randy Vivian tracked the lineage of our franchise over the last 35 years – from the 1974 Texas League Champion Victoria Toros to the Jackson Mets (1975-90) and Generals (1991-99) to the Round Rock Express (2000-04) to the Hooks. I talked about our team’s fortunes during the exhibition schedule… the 6-5 walk-off win over Houston last Thursday and the split with Round Rock.

Victoria Day at Whataburger Field is set for Sunday, May 17, when the Hooks play host to San Antonio at 2:05. Record-setting Rockport-Fulton, which drew a whopping 736 to their event last April, is our first outmarket event on April 23. Refugio has pulled over 300 patrons on each of its last two evenings at the park and returns on Thursday, May 14. As the birthplace of Nolan Ryan, Refugio has always had a strong connection with the Hooks. Two years ago, 307 of 2,721 citizens attended Refugio Night. That’s 11.3 percent of the population!

Sinton (May 31), Beeville (July 19), Alice (July 26) and George West (August 16) are three other towns with Hooks events on the books. If you have an interest in planning a community night at Whataburger Field, contact Andy Steavens at 361-561-4677.

+++++

“Man, where’d this come from, Hicksie?”

That was Round Rock first baseman Mark Saccomanno’s first impression of Bradley’s Studio near the main gates at Whataburger Field when ushered into a postgame interview with Hooks play-by-play man Matt Hicks. The Express had blanked Corpus Christi 7-0 Tuesday as Saccomanno joined Hicks and Round Rock shortstop Edwin Maysonet. “The 2006 team made this possible,” I wryly explained.

When Sac starred for the ’06 Texas League champs at third base, the area now occupied by the studio sat empty. As part of the Hooks-ClearChannel Radio agreement commencing with 2007, the space was converted into a state-of-the-art broadcast studio. Key players were ClearChannel chief engineer Steve Freeman and Hooks director of stadium operations Tina Athans, acting on the vision of former Hooks president JJ Gottsch and ClearChannel VP/market manager John Richards.

Hicks (1360 KKTX-AM) and Spanish announcer Eduardo Becerra (1400 KUNO-AM) serve as lead announcers on Hooks broadcasts. The pre- and postgame shows attract fans each night as Hicks, Michael Coffin and color analyst Gene Kasprzyk preview and break down the night’s action. ClearChannel radio personalities like K-99’s Big Frank Edwards entertain listeners from the studio on a regular basis during the season.

+++++

Saccomanno and Maysonet were among 14 former Hooks in Round Rock’s road gray Tuesday night. Others were pitchers Sammy Gervacio, Ryan McKeller, Josh Muecke, Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino; catchers J.R. Towles and Lou Santangelo; infielders Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella and Drew Sutton; and outfielders Brian Bogusevic and Eli Iorg.

Gervacio, Paulino, Towles, Manzella, Maysonet, Sutton and Bogusevic are on Houston’s 40-man roster, as are Hooks pitchers Brad James and Polin Trinidad.

Afterwards, Express and Hooks players shared a Bar-B-Q feast in the same loading dock area where Corpus Christi’s team bus embarks on a six-day trip to Tulsa and Northwest Arkansas next Wednesday. Triple-A players want to stay there for a number of reasons, not the least of which is air transportation in lieu of the road.

But in Double-A, you’re one of the best 2,200 players on the planet. That’s less than the population of Refugio.

If you’re a 2009 Hook, 23 of your predecessors over a four-year period have reached the big leagues. That spells H-O-P-E.

It’s what this time of year is all about.

See you at the ballpark.