MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Baseball is the family business for the Goodmans, and it’s not just because of Memphis Tigers catcher and newest Colorado Rockie Hunter Goodman.
“My mom played college softball and my dad actually coached my mom when she was playing college softball.”
Goodman’s been around the game for as long as he can remember.
“Growing up, my dad and my grandpa they played fast pitch softball, so I was always at the field watching them play and after the game they’ll toss you the ball, hit it, run around the bases and do whatever. So, I’ve been doing baseball since I was 3 or 4 years old.”
And, being a catcher is just in his DNA.
“My mom and dad were both catchers and I wanted to catch, so they told me not to because they told me ‘oh your knees, it’s tough on your body’ or whatever. But I love it. It’s fun. I like being a part of every pitch.”
Since the Tigers’ season ended in may, coming back to FedExPark has been sort of emotional for Goodman. It’s the place where his breakout freshman season left a lasting mark on the Tigers program.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I was coming in, so I just kind of came in and played and stayed loose and stayed confident in myself – just went out there and played I didn’t know what to expect and just trust in my abilities.”
In two and half seasons with the Tigers, Goodman racked up 12 all-American accolades, starting this past season as the AAC Preseason Player of the Year.
He stays humble about his awards both on and off the field and credits his motivation to his parents.
“My parents aren’t the ones going to be like ‘oh, you had a great game’ if you had a bad game. Like they’re going to be honest with me and honestly, they don’t even get mad about it or anything like that. They don’t worry about the whole statistics and that stuff. It’s more about how I handle it and stuff like that and how I approach the game of baseball and approach life.”
“I feel like that just motivates you more and it also teaches you a lesson that not everything is going to be handed to you in life, you got to work for it. You got to keep improving no matter what, even if you’re having a great game or if you have a bad game. Once that game’s over you have to focus on the next game.”
Goodman’s next game will be in the pros, seeing his dream come true as a second day pick of the Rockies 109th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft.
