Before reporting to spring training in Jupiter, Florida this week, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams and his new wife Carina attended a ceremony at his college, Slippery Rock University. The occasion was the retiring of Adams’ number 25 jersey, the first such action in school history.
Adams finished his 2007-2009 stint as SRU’s all-time leader in batting average (.454), slugging percentage (.746) and on-base percentage (.525). The catcher-first baseman was a three-time All-America selection and the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2009 before being selected by the Cardinals in the 23rd round that June.
Among those in attendance at the February 7th ceremony and dinner were Slippery Rock baseball coach Jeff Messer, school president Cheryl Norton, Cardinals Northeast crosschecker Brian Hopkins, who was instrumental in the Cardinals’ drafting of Adams in 2009, Philipsburg-Osceola high school coach Doug Sankey and Adams’ longtime hitting coach Justin Hazelton, reported the Centre Daily Times.
Speaking of Hazelton, I interviewed the hitting coach about his special relationship with Adams back when the big man was first called up to St. Louis. The free article is here.
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