Jordan HammThere are few things more discouraging for an opposing baseball team than seeing Trevor Hoffman take the mound.
“Hells Bells” by AC/DC starts chiming as the 6-foot-1, 200-pound closer makes his way to the mound. For most of his career, he was wearing Padre navy, but he might as well have been in a black rope with his changeup acting as his scythe.
Brian Johnson narrates what’s coming next for the next few hitter:
I won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives
Nobody’s putting up a fight
I got my bell, I’m gonna take you to hell
I’m gonna get you, Satan get youHell’s bells
It’s one of the most iconic entrances in sports for the man who sits second all-time in saves with 601 and a 2.87 earned run average over an 18-year Hall of Fame career.
But Arizona Wildcat baseball fans who watched Hoffman play in Tucson in 1988-89 never saw that side of him. They saw a shortstop who hit .371, 35 points higher than his Wildcat teammate and longtime San Francisco Giant J.T. Snow. His transition to the mound didn’t happen until he had been in Minor League Baseball.
Not bad for one of the best relievers of all time.
On Friday, the Wildcats honored Trevor Hoffman‘s #15 in right-centerfield of Hi Corbett Field, joining Terry Francona’s #32. Initially, the infielder turned reliever was hesitant of being recognized and felt his college career was not to the same standard as Francona’s or fellow Arizona standout Chip Hale, but he eventually had a change of heart.
