Congratulations Matt! A job well done.
From VWC's Web Site.
Hudgins heads to Arizona to sign with the Chicago Cubs
June 14, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Matt Hudgins’ hopes of playing major league baseball have become reality.
That phone call he hoped to receive happened Thursday morning. On the other end of the line was Chicago Cubs’ representative Billy Swoope.
Matt Hudgins
"He asked me if I wanted to play professionally and I said absolutely," said Hudgins, who enhanced his chances to play in the major league with a stellar senior season at Virginia Wesleyan College.
What follows now is a whirlwind of activity as Hudgins (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) packs and prepares to fly to Mesa, Ariz. to officially sign as a free agent with the Cubs on Friday. He will begin his professional career with the Mesa Cubs, the rookie team for Chicago.
"I’m pumped up and I’m ready to do this," said Hudgins, who was omitted from the recent professional draft. But, he took it all in stride, confident that something would still happen.
"I was disappointed and I wasn’t," said Hudgins. "I had faith in the people around me and I knew Coach Boothe (Nick) would do everything he could. I played well this past season and it wasn’t a given, but I thought I’d get a look or a chance at this."
He got several looks from professional scouts during the season, particularly from Swoope, who is no stranger to the Virginia Wesleyan campus. Swoope was the head coach of the Marlins in 1985 and 1986, guiding VWC to a combined 58-19 record in those two years, highlighted by a trip to the NCAA tournament in 1985.
Swoope obviously liked what he saw in the Marlins’ 6-foot-3, 240-pound catcher and helped pave the way for Friday’s signing. Hudgins was recently named to the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association’s (ABCA) All-America team, making him the first VWC baseball player to receive the lofty honor since 1994 when pitcher Gary Sasser received third-team recognition. Hudgins, a second-team honoree, was one of only four catchers and one of 56 players overall to earn All-America status.
That honor was part of a sweep of major honors for the talented left-handed hitter, who knocked ball around en route to a .447 batting average this season. That mark was No. 1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), the sixth best in the 34-year history of VWC’s baseball program and the best for a Marlin hitter since 1994 when Sasser hit .473.
Hudgins, who helped propel VWC to a 23-17 finish and first place in the ODAC’s regular-season standings, was tagged as the 2007 Player of the Year in the ODAC and named a first-team All-South honoree, the latter putting him in contention for the All-America award.
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