The newest Cardinals rookie had one word to describe his last 24 hours.
“Chaos,” said Jarrett Hoffpauir, in a Southern accent that shows his Mississippi roots.
Two nights ago, the 26-year-old was with the Memphis Redbirds in New Orleans, helping his team to a 6-3 win. The next morning the team traveled to Albequerque, where Hoffpauir said he received a call between 11 and 11:30 that he would be joining the big league club for Wednesday night’s game.
When the game went into extra innings, Cards manager Tony LaRussa gave the young infielder a bit of a scare.
“He got me up, got me loose, got that fluid going,” Hoffpauir said.
Thanks to Rasmus’ heroics, the Cards didn’t need Hoffpauir last night, and he’ll start on the bench again today in the series finale. He was all smiles as he stood by his new locker, right next to Cardinals rightfielder Ryan Ludwick.
“It’s a dream come true,” Hoffpauir said. “It’s something you look forward to your whole life. When I got that call it made it all worth it. But I’m not content with just being here. I want to do well and prove to these guys that I can play and help the team win.”
Hoffpauir already knew some of his new teammates from the minors, and he said he has a couple of guys helping him learn the ropes in the St. Louis clubhouse. He tried not to worry too much about his future when he saw so many guys around him get called up, and could only hope his time would eventually come.
“It bothers you because you want to be that guy,” he said. “I’m just ready at all times. If I’m in there, I’m in there, I’ll give it 100%. If not, I’ll be ready on the bench for a pinch-hitter, maybe a defensive substitution or something.”
Even if he doesn’t play in his first full major league game, he’ll get to watch a former Cy Young winner in Barry Zito. Of course, he’ll also share the dugout with the best hitter in baseball.
“You see guys like that and it’s a little shocking at first but you’ve got to realize it’s baseball,” Hoffpauir said. “It’s the same game, that baseball’s the same size.”