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Hoffpauir singles in AL debut
One year ago, Jarrett Hoffpauir was batting in front of Albert Pujols.
Tuesday night in Toronto, Hoffpauir was fielding a groundball from the St. Louis All-Star and throwing him out at first base.
Hoffpauir made his debut with Toronto after being called up Sunday.
Through 57 games at Triple-A Las Vegas, the 27-year-old Hoffpauir hit .328 with nine home runs, 15 doubles and 43 RBIs. Hoffpauir, who can play multiple infield positions, hit for the cycle twice this season. He accomplished the feat on April 25 against Sacramento and again on May 28 against Tacoma.
There were two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning of Triple-A Las Vegas' game against Colorado Springs on Sunday, and Hoffpauir was instructed to head back to the dugout.
Las Vegas manager Dave Rohn wanted to speak with the infielder.
"He pulled me off the field," Hoffpauir said. "I said, 'I've either done something really bad or this is going to be a good thing.' I was getting a little frustrated because Toronto had made a couple of moves I didn't understand. It's been a long, drawn-out affair. But I just kept playing and everything has worked out."
Hoffpauir's success made it possible for the Jays to relocate struggling starter Edwin Encarnacion.
"Maybe if Jarrett Hoffpauir isn't down there performing the way he has been, maybe we give Edwin a little more time up here," Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "(Instead) we could get an extended look at Jarrett. We think there is certainly something there that we want to find out about. He's on his last option, and this is a good opportunity to show what he can do. We don't know what we have with him."
As the MLB telecast began, it showed Hoffpauir hugging former teammate Pujols, talking about changes in the Toronto lineup.
Batting in the No. 9 position, Hoffpauir popped out to Pujols in his first at-bat. He led off the Blue Jays' sixth inning with his first American League hit, a single up the middle off Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia.
"That first hit can be the hardest one," Hoffpauir said. "It was a little nerve-wracking at first. St. Louis has one of the best staffs in the league. But it was fun. Hopefully I can play well enough to stay here for a while."
Fred Lewis followed with a single to move Hoffpauir to second. Aaron Hill grounded out to send Hoffpauir to third. Adam Lind then pulled a pitch sharply down the first-base line, where Pujols dove to his left. Pujols gloved the ball, waved off Garcia after getting to his feet and sprinted to first to beat Lind to the base for an out. Hoffpauir scored on the play.
In his final at-bat, Cardinal third baseman David Freese made a good play on a Hoffpauir grounder and threw out the Vidalia native.
Hoffpauir and Freese were roomatese when they were with the Memphis Redbirds.
"I kind of gave him a little laugh," Hoffpauir said. "That's part of it. I got a bunch of texts from all my buddies over there: 'See you tomorrow in Toronto.' I got to talk to a couple of them before the game. It's good to see all those guys."
Hoffpauir made three assists in the game, snagging a groundball from Pujols and throwing out the runner at second.
"He hit a rocket," Hoffpauir said.
The new uniform is not the only thing different for Hoffpauir in his second Major League stint. This time Hoffpauir is a married man.
Jarrett and Molly were married last November in New Orleans. One of the attendees was Freese. Jarrett and Molly are expecting their first child on New Year's Day.
"It puts everything in perspective," Hoffpauir said. "And it's nice seeing my wife every day and not have the long-distance phone calls. I was putting some pressure on myself after I first got the call to move up, but when I got here I told myself to just go out, enjoy the ride and have fun. And that's what I'm planning on doing."
Hoffpauir played in eight games with the St. Louis Cardinals last season, making his major league debut on July 3 at Busch Stadium. In his major league career he has three hits in 12 at bats, two of which were doubles.
Hoffpauir earned five All-American honors from 2002-04 at Southern Miss before turning profession after the Cardinals took him in the sixth round of the 2004 June free agent draft in the sixth round. |
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