Written the week of April 13-19, 2026
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals have come to town for a 6-game series with the Hooks. Last night we had a great start to the series. I write “we” as if I were on the field.
With the Naturals in town, we look at the North Division of the Texas League. This time I’ll simply list the team names, their cities, and their MLB affiliates.
Arkansas Travelers North Little Rock, Arkansas Seattle Mariners
NWA Naturals Springdale, Arkansas Kansas City Royals
Springfield Cardinals Springfield, Missouri St. Louis Cardinals
Tulsa Drillers Tulsa, Oklahoma Los Angeles Dodgers
Wichita Wind Surge Wichita, Kansas Minnesota Twins
I acquired a baseball-related habit in the 70’s while in the army that I continue to practice to this day. This acquired habit is thanks to my good friend Dave Westfall, and I will forever be grateful.
I served in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1977. During that time, a group of us soldiers with three-day leaves decided to pack up in a couple of cars and drive from Fort Hood, Texas, to the Houston Astrodome for a game. Dave made sure we left early enough to arrive for batting practice.
As we toured the stadium, Dave yelled to a Pittsburgh Pirates player, “Hey, throw me a ball!”
The player did, and I was hooked from that day on. Yesterday I ended up with three baseballs from batting practice, keeping only one. I’ll probably give that one away before the end of the week.
Arriving early to games gives me time to walk around the stadium and talk to folks and learn about players. I can google information about people, but it’s so much cooler learning things that an on-line search will never divulge.
Yesterday I started talking to a couple of visiting players, Caden Monke and Zachary Cawyer, who were fielding balls hit to left field during batting practice. I know from experience that pitchers make up the outfield during this time, so I started talking about the wind. Whataburger Field has the prevailing winds coming out of the southeast, blowing hard and pushing balls toward the left field fence. Not a pitcher’s friend at all.
That’s when I learned Caden had pitched here last season and given up a homerun to Wes Clarke. I remembered that hit because of where it landed, in a gap between the outfield fence and the barrier behind it. He confirmed what I remembered. I never got that homerun ball, but I did get another Wes Clarke homerun ball later in the season.
I asked a couple of questions related to travel and Corpus Christi activities outside of playing baseball. As to travel, Caden said the bus ride to Corpus Christi took 12 hours, and the team arrived at their hotel at 6:30 Monday morning.
Was it the longest ride for them in the season? He wasn’t sure if Corpus or San Antonio had that distinction. They’re both a long way from the Ozarks.
Zachary and I talked about aquariums after I asked if they’d been to the Texas State Aquarium, where I’m a volunteer diver. He had. Caden hadn’t. Zachary enjoys visiting aquariums, and I let him know that Springfield, Missouri, has the number-one-rated aquarium in the United States. Springfield, of course, is home to the Cardinals, a North Division foe. The Texas State Aquarium typically ranks somewhere between 3 and 5 nationally, but it always ranks number 1 with me.
A part of my baseball routine includes collecting autographs before the game starts. I ask players to sign rosters, articles from previous games, the day’s game ticket, and, for the Hooks, the team ball. I attempt to get the autographs of players who were here opening day, an endeavor that takes weeks and always meets a bump or two in the road. Three players have already moved up to the Triple-A level, and we’re only in the third week. That is the transitory nature of the minor leagues.
What I especially like about that time of waiting for players to come out onto the field is talking with the kids. Who’s your favorite player? Is this your first game? Where are you coming from?
On Tuesday a group of middle schoolers visited from Del Rio, Texas. They had decided Alejandro Torres would be their favorite player. He was a good choice, always polite, smiling, and willing to stop for autographs. He was all that when he graciously signed whatever the youngsters held out. In the 3rd inning, he entered in relief, pitched 1⅓ shutout innings, and recorded the win.
I bring extra permanent markers and pens knowing that someone, usually a child, but not always, will need to borrow one. On Tuesday I tossed a marker across the tunnel to a boy who’d come without one. When he started to leave, he got my attention and said, “Here’s your pen!”
I said, “No, it’s your pen. I gave it to you.”
His face showed all the thanks I needed to see.
That kindness often shows up later. Case in point:
A few years ago, I went after a homerun ball. As I got close to it, a young boy ran in front of me, snatched up the ball, and I stumbled, falling on him hard. He hopped up and shot out of there. In the meantime, I’m on the ground trying to figure out if anything hurt. Something did, but I survived.
While I was lying there, some other boys came to see if I was all right, boys who knew me from visits while waiting for players to come out. One said, “That’s okay. You tried really hard.”
Now what about the actual games this week?
The Hooks played an exceptional game on Tuesday. Pitching was solid for the first 7 innings of the game, then they gave up 3 runs in the 8th, surrendered a single run in the 9th before loading up the bases with a 4-run lead, and finally closed it out with a soft toss to first base by Pascanel Ferreras, our 2nd baseman.
Defense remained stellar throughout the entire game. Tommy Sacco Jr., our shortstop, jumped about as high as he could to snatch a sizzling line drive out of the air for an out.
In the top of the 4th, 3rd Baseman Trevor Austin started a double play that was one slight miscue away from being a triple play. I’ve seen a lot of baseball, but I’ve never seen a triple play live, whether in person or on tv. Now I have another item to add to the bucket list (along with going to all 10 Texas League stadiums, catching a grand slam ball, and retrieving a walk-off homer).
Just seeing a grand slam at a ballpark used to be on my bucket list, but that got checked off Father’s Day 2015 at Dell Diamond, the Triple-A home of the Round Rock Express. It happened twice in an Express romp over the Iowa Cubs, 14-8.
I missed the first one because I was talking to the group sales director, thanking her for accommodating our special situation. Our church group was originally scheduled to go the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, but tragedy struck our town, Wimberley, Texas, with a devastating flood on Saturday night.
I wish I could remember the young woman’s name, because she went the extra mile to see that we were treated well. Express Right Fielder Chris Garia hit the 2nd grand slam of the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and I was paying attention that time. I’ve seen many grand slams hit since that time, a favorite being a walk-off grand slam by Hooks catcher Lorenzo Quintana on July 7, 2019.
Quincy Hamilton hit two grand slams in late May 2023. I remember the count on the first one was 3-0 because I thought, “Quincy, if you swing at the next pitch, it better be a homerun.” He did, and it was.
The second grand slam the next day booked Q a ticket to Triple-A Sugar Land. That Sunday was his last game at Whataburger Field. I was glad for him while sad to see him go. Again, the transitory nature of the minor leagues.
Tuesday, the Hooks hitters clobbered the ball with solid contact throughout the night. They also made timely contact to drive in runs.
Trevor Austin blistered a ball over the left field fence that moved faster than I ever remember seeing at Whataburger Field. I was a step away from the perfect spot to catch it but tripped trying to take that last step. That ball moved fast while I, on the other hand, did not.
It was one of three opportunities I’ve had this week to get a homerun. I’m 0 for 3, but the 2nd homerun was the most fun because four of us scampered after it, including the young woman who laughed all the way down the berm. In that moment, she, like me, was just a 9-year-old having fun.
I witnessed something during Tuesday night’s game I hadn’t seen before: athletes heckling athletes. In the left field rockers, my favorite spot in the whole ballpark, a group of hockey players was sitting and watching the game. I had met three of them at a previous game, discovered they played NAHL hockey for the Corpus Christi IceRays, and we talked about their futures. Now they had returned with a bunch of their teammates.
When the Naturals’ left fielder dropped a routine fly ball, the hockey players hooted and shouted. “Don’t look at your glove. That’s not the problem…You need a net…” and other things I’ve forgotten. For three innings, they harassed the outfielder mercilessly. Despite the constant heckling, their words didn’t even merit a glance from the player, and I didn’t hear anything unprintable, vulgar, or cruel.
On Wednesday, Corpus Christi wore their Whataburger orange uniforms as the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. Wearing those uniforms has become a Wednesday homestand staple since 2021. The jerseys have become a top-selling item and can be seen on fans wherever the Hooks or Astros play.
By the way, Whataburger Field is named after Whataburger, a successful hamburger chain founded here in Corpus Christi in 1950. Along with HEB, Whataburger is a South Texas treasure. My wife, growing up in Wisconsin, couldn’t see why we Texans thought Whataburger and HEB were so great. Now, as if she grew up here, she claims the HEB on Saratoga as “our HEB” and the Whataburger on the corner of Yorktown and Staples as “our Whataburger.”
For a second night in a row, the Hooks played like champions. Bryce Mayer started and pitched four shutout innings, fanning 7. In the 5th, Nic Swanson came on in relief, pitched 2⅔ innings, striking out 6, giving up 2 earned runs, and getting the win.
The Hooks had another good night at the plate and in the field, looking like a championship caliber team.
And on Thursday? Not so much!
After 5 innings, the Hooks led 4-2, but sometimes in a game everything seems to go wrong all at once. That happened for the Hooks this night, beginning in the sixth inning. An errant throw to first resulted in a run. A passed ball? Another run. Runner stealing second with two outs and a man on third? Throw to second then back to the plate, a dropped ball, and another run scored. Final score Northwest Arkansas 9-Corpus Christi 4.
This game reminds me that the season is in its infancy, and every season has multiple let’s-just-turn-the-page moments. Thursday night happened to be one of those, and it’s not even the first one of this season. Nor will it be the last.
Even in losses, I find hopeful highlights. Walker Janek, our catcher, was named the 2024 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year. Wednesday night I saw why. The Astros’ 1st rounder in 2024 showed his defensive prowess by throwing out two would-be stealers at second. I rarely see that.
Trevor Austin hit his 2nd homerun in three days. Will Bush and Joseph Sullivan III hit one each on Wednesday. Four home runs in three games trends well for the future.
Other experiences beyond baseball also bring me back night after night to the ballpark—opportunities to experience serendipitous moments and to learn new things. Many lessons happen at Whataburger Field but aren’t baseball related at all. Thursday provided just such a lesson.
VT 28, a naval training squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, held their tie-cutting ceremony at Whataburger Field in the Goodwill Zone, the left field area where I usually sit. I spoke to Lt. Sean Casey, one of the flight instructors, to make sure it wouldn’t be a problem if I sat in my usual spot. He assured me it would not.
During the game, VT 28 instructors cut their flight students’ ties. I spoke to Ensign Thomas Luther, one of those getting his tie cut, about the significance of the ceremony. The tradition celebrated having completed a solo flight in the T-6, a powerful single-engine prop plane. I want to thank Lt. Cmdr. Dylan Phillip-Levine, Lt. Sean Casey, Lt. Ryan Hack, Lt. Street, and the members of VT 28 who made a losing night on the field a winning night in the stands.
April 14 Northwest Arkansas Naturals 4-Corpus Christi Hooks 8 W
April 15 Northwest Arkansas Naturals 5 -Corpus Christi Hooks 10 W
April 16 Northwest Arkansas Naturals 9-Corpus Christi Hooks 4 L
Halfway through the third series of the season, the Hooks have battled a solid Naturals team for three games, winning two. Hovering around 66% in the win column and winning series will get you to the playoffs. Let’s see if the Hooks can return to their winning ways in games 4, 5, and 6.
Baseball, Bikes, Birds and the Bible 
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