“The spirit it moves in all things.” Widespread Panic
Despite a tremendous lack of baseball played here in the Western District of Carroll County, Eureka Springs, throughout its storied past, actually has produced a primetime, modern-day Major Leaguer in one Patrick Bryan Burrell, or “Pat the Bat.”
He was born at the local hospital in 1976 and moved to out to the west coast as a youngster, where he honed his athletic skills, starring in baseball and football at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Calif. He was named Player of the Year by the California Coaches Association in 1995, his senior season, and signed on to play college ball in Florida for the University of Miami Hurricanes.
In 1996, as a freshman, Burrell was named as a 1st Team All-American and also as the MVP of the College World Series that season, becoming only the third player behind Dave Winfield and Phil Nevin to garner the award, despite their team losing the series. He went on to achieve First Team All-America honors his sophomore and junior years, as well, and won the coveted Golden Spikes Award in 1998. Given out to the best college baseball player every year, Burrell earned it in his third and what would be his final season of college ball.
The .442 batting average he sported as a Hurricane is the seventh-highest, all-time, percentage ever put up by in the NCAA, and his .888 slugging percentage is second only to the great Pete Incaviglia, the former Texas Longhorn of steroids and juiced bat fame, who hit more Big Flies than anyone in NCAA history.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Burrell with the first, overall pick of the 1998 MLB Draft and called him up to the Big Leagues on May 23, 2000. The next day saw him start at first base and collect his first two hits and RBIs of his Major League career. He finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year race that year.
Burrell played nine seasons in Philly, averaged at least 20 taters a year for the eight consecutive years he was there, and was an important cog in its World Series run in 2008. He went on to play for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2009-10) and San Francisco Giants (2010-11), where he won another World Series ring.
In 2012, Pat the Bat signed a one-day contract with the Phillies, so he could officially retire in the City of Brotherly Love. Three years later, Burrell was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame – the 37th player to receive such an honor.
Currently, he is the San Francisco Giants hitting coach.
Meanwhile, despite playing against brutal SEC teams every weekend, the #2-ranked Razorback baseball squad often plays a midweek game or two at Baum Walker Stadium against some quality teams from other conferences. Other weeks they schedule smaller, in-state colleges, like UALR, UCA and Arkansas State. Last week, the Red Raiders of Texas Tech came to town on Tuesday and Wednesday and the home team barely escaped with a couple of one-run victories in both games – 9-8 and 5-4.
This week, Arkansas travels to North Little Rock on Tuesday for a 6 p.m., non-conference game against UAPB at Dickey Stephens Park, a fine, Minor League ballpark and home to the Arkansas Travelers, a AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Over the weekend the Hogs flew to Columbia and won two outta three games over South Carolina in Founders Park. The Razorbacks bookended victories around a 6-3 loss in the opening game of Saturdaze twin billing to take their fifth, consecutive series from the Gamecocks, including a Super Regional victory in 2018.
The Razorbacks (34-6) overall and (14-4) in SEC play are atop the SEC West, one game ahead of Texas A & M. This weekend they go on the road for a three-game series versus the Gators of Florida.