In 2017, Arizona Baseball made an impression on social media that few, if any, baseball programs in the country have ever made.
Thanks to the talent of former player
Sawyer Gieseke and some above--average acting from coach
Jay Johnson, director of operations
Ray McIntire, outfielder
Matt Fraizer and others, Arizona Baseball's spoof on the movie, Major League went viral in the biggest way possible. That was the way Arizona Baseball started its year on social media, releasing a video that would reach audiences on ESPN, MLB Network, TMZ, Barstool Sports and nearly every other sports outlet in the country.
The year in social media ended this week when the program sadly confirmed the passing of legendary coach Jerry Kindall, who passed away on the Christmas Eve. Touching tributes and amazing stories followed in the days after, highlighting the impact Kindall had on the program.
We look at those two moments and eight more in our Baseball Social Media Year in Review:
1. On February 14, Arizona Baseball released its Major League spoof, entitled "Major League 3.5" that Gieseke produced, edited and wrote. It drew more than 150,000 impressions on Twitter and was shared through various outlets throughout the country.
2. Two weeks before the season began, we proudly announced that former player and current Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona was donating $1 million for the Terry Francona Hitting Center, which was completed this fall. This year's team has already moved into the hitting center and will continue to use for the 2018 season.
3. Holy bat flip! On May 5,
Cal Stevenson sent the Hi Corbett crowd home happy with a moonshot of a walk-off home run to beat Washington in the first-game of a three-game series. Stevenson flipped his bat in celebration and was mobbed at home by his teammates.
4. In a game that that went back and forth and seemed to go all day, Arizona pulled out a dramatic win over Delaware in the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a late home run from Alfonso Rivas and some clutch pitching from
Juan Aguilera.
5. Not much else to say here, other than
JJ Matijevic is pretty, pretty good. The now minor leaguer for the Houston Astros had an All-American season for the Wildcats in 2017, leading the Pac-12 in several offensive categories.
6. In late June, we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the 2012 National Championship, much to the delight of our Twitter crowd.
7. Not one, not two, but three wins over ASU in Phoenix this season for the first sweep of the Sun Devils since 1992.
8. Twitter loves our skipper,
Jay Johnson, and they were sure happy when we announced a five-year contract extension for No. 2
9. Just this week, Coach Jerry Kindall passed away, causing Twitter to reflect on the life and times of a man who left his hand print all over the game of baseball.
10. Another
Cal Stevenson walk-off hit? Why not? Some may have forgotten about Stevenson's early-season walk-off over Oklahoma State in Frisco, Texas, but Twitter sure took notice.
