Photo by: Kelly Gavin/Texas Rangers
Week of Milestones For #ProDuck Heineman
07/31/20 | Baseball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon baseball alum Scott Heineman made the opening day roster for the Texas Rangers last week, and this weekend he faces off against his older brother at San Francisco.
The Heineman family is anticipating a big weekend that begins Friday night in San Francisco, one that will feature a reunion of brothers on a Major League Baseball field, three games between two teams looking to crash MLB's playoff party later this year, and also perhaps the need for a little bail money.
OK, so the need for bail money only comes up in jokes, between former UO baseball star Scott Heineman and his family. But those jokes speak to the range of emotions the Heinemans will experience this week, from excitement to frustration, when Scott's Texas Rangers play at the San Francisco Giants, whose opening day catcher was Scott's older brother, Tyler.
Both brothers made their Major League debuts in 2019, and both made an opening day roster for the first time in 2020. Now they'll face off on the same field, albeit with no fans in attendance, including their family — although their father, Steve, has joked about trying to find a way to sneak in.
"We told him, 'Hey, you do what you've gotta do,' " Scott said earlier this week with a laugh. "If we gotta bail you out of jail, we will."
In all seriousness, Heineman said he's "overcome with joy" that both he and his brother made big-league rosters this summer. It's a season like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic — one reason Tyler started opening day for the Giants was that their perennial All-Star catcher, Buster Posey, opted out of this season — but that isn't dampening the family's anticipation for this weekend's series in San Francisco.
"Our mindset was just to be the best versions of ourselves and play our best game, and let the chips fall where they may," Heineman said. "Obviously I wish the pandemic never happened; that goes without saying. But with the new schedule, I'll lace 'em up against him on Friday for the first time, and that's pretty cool."
Heineman played at Oregon from 2012-15, hitting .290 as a redshirt junior in 2015, with an OPS of .811, 28 runs and 23 RBIs. He plays the game with reckless abandon, which has resulted in some lost time due to injuries over the years, but which also made Heineman a joy to watch, always a threat to take an extra base or track down a flyball hit to a gap.
A Triple-A All-Star in 2018, Heineman made his Major League debut with the Rangers last season, making 85 plate appearances across 25 games and rapping out 16 hits, including two homers and six doubles. He made his first appearance of this season on Wednesday, starting in centerfield and batting eighth in a 7-4 victory for Texas over Arizona.
As unique as this season may be, Heineman said he took a few minutes last week to celebrate the fact he'd achieved a lifelong goal of making an opening day roster in the big leagues.
"When something like that actually happens, sometimes we forget to acknowledge it, because we always want more — and that's a good thing," Heineman said. "I want more. I want to be out there on the field everyday. That's what's pushing me to work hard and get better.
"But when I came back to the hotel after opening night, you take a 10-minute period to reflect. Even though I didn't get into that game, and there was no fans, it's still a special moment. It's pretty cool."
Scott Heineman is doused with sports drink after making his Major League debut last season.
Heineman said playing games without fans in attendance "brings me back to my high school days." But also, he said, the unusual stadium atmosphere, along with the 60-game season, calls to mind skills learned Oregon, playing for former UO coach George Horton.
With less ambient noise in the stadium, chatter from the dugouts is more audible on the field, as it is across college baseball. That's led to tension between some teams when they start chirping at each other, but it's also allowing engaged dugouts to have an impact on what happens in the game, by alerting teammates on the field to what they see.
"Coach Horton always used to preach, 'Win the dugout,' " Heineman said. "In college, the dugout always being in the game, that can have a big impact. And we're seeing that now (in the big leagues). No fans in the stands, it can be quiet in the stadium, and the dugout that's poised and enthusiastic, that plays a big role now."
Going head-to-head with his older brother this weekend, Heineman will be looking for every edge he can get to win family bragging rights. But just like he took a few minutes to appreciate the fact he made the Rangers' opening day roster, Heineman will take time out this weekend to celebrate playing in a Major League game against Tyler.
"You want to go out there and hug him in pregame, and we won't be able to do that," Heineman said. "But just seeing each other on the same field will be amazing."
OK, so the need for bail money only comes up in jokes, between former UO baseball star Scott Heineman and his family. But those jokes speak to the range of emotions the Heinemans will experience this week, from excitement to frustration, when Scott's Texas Rangers play at the San Francisco Giants, whose opening day catcher was Scott's older brother, Tyler.
Both brothers made their Major League debuts in 2019, and both made an opening day roster for the first time in 2020. Now they'll face off on the same field, albeit with no fans in attendance, including their family — although their father, Steve, has joked about trying to find a way to sneak in.
"We told him, 'Hey, you do what you've gotta do,' " Scott said earlier this week with a laugh. "If we gotta bail you out of jail, we will."
In all seriousness, Heineman said he's "overcome with joy" that both he and his brother made big-league rosters this summer. It's a season like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic — one reason Tyler started opening day for the Giants was that their perennial All-Star catcher, Buster Posey, opted out of this season — but that isn't dampening the family's anticipation for this weekend's series in San Francisco.
"Our mindset was just to be the best versions of ourselves and play our best game, and let the chips fall where they may," Heineman said. "Obviously I wish the pandemic never happened; that goes without saying. But with the new schedule, I'll lace 'em up against him on Friday for the first time, and that's pretty cool."
Heineman played at Oregon from 2012-15, hitting .290 as a redshirt junior in 2015, with an OPS of .811, 28 runs and 23 RBIs. He plays the game with reckless abandon, which has resulted in some lost time due to injuries over the years, but which also made Heineman a joy to watch, always a threat to take an extra base or track down a flyball hit to a gap.
A Triple-A All-Star in 2018, Heineman made his Major League debut with the Rangers last season, making 85 plate appearances across 25 games and rapping out 16 hits, including two homers and six doubles. He made his first appearance of this season on Wednesday, starting in centerfield and batting eighth in a 7-4 victory for Texas over Arizona.
As unique as this season may be, Heineman said he took a few minutes last week to celebrate the fact he'd achieved a lifelong goal of making an opening day roster in the big leagues.
"When something like that actually happens, sometimes we forget to acknowledge it, because we always want more — and that's a good thing," Heineman said. "I want more. I want to be out there on the field everyday. That's what's pushing me to work hard and get better.
"But when I came back to the hotel after opening night, you take a 10-minute period to reflect. Even though I didn't get into that game, and there was no fans, it's still a special moment. It's pretty cool."
Scott Heineman is doused with sports drink after making his Major League debut last season.
Heineman said playing games without fans in attendance "brings me back to my high school days." But also, he said, the unusual stadium atmosphere, along with the 60-game season, calls to mind skills learned Oregon, playing for former UO coach George Horton.
With less ambient noise in the stadium, chatter from the dugouts is more audible on the field, as it is across college baseball. That's led to tension between some teams when they start chirping at each other, but it's also allowing engaged dugouts to have an impact on what happens in the game, by alerting teammates on the field to what they see.
"Coach Horton always used to preach, 'Win the dugout,' " Heineman said. "In college, the dugout always being in the game, that can have a big impact. And we're seeing that now (in the big leagues). No fans in the stands, it can be quiet in the stadium, and the dugout that's poised and enthusiastic, that plays a big role now."
Going head-to-head with his older brother this weekend, Heineman will be looking for every edge he can get to win family bragging rights. But just like he took a few minutes to appreciate the fact he made the Rangers' opening day roster, Heineman will take time out this weekend to celebrate playing in a Major League game against Tyler.
"You want to go out there and hug him in pregame, and we won't be able to do that," Heineman said. "But just seeing each other on the same field will be amazing."
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