• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Cardinals
  • Diamondbacks
  • Coyotes
  • Basketball
    • Mercury
    • Suns
  • Soccer
  • Colleges
    • Arizona State
    • Grand Canyon University
    • Northern Arizona
    • University of Arizona

Ex-Arizona baseball star JJ Matijevic hits first MLB home run, negotiates to get ball from Astros fan

June 20, 2022 by AZ Desert Swarm Leave a Comment

arizona-wildcats-baseball-jj-matijevic-houston-astros-chicago-white-sox-milestone-justin-verlander
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

JJ Matijevic only appeared in two games with the Houston Astros during his first callup to the majors back in April, going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts before getting sent back to Triple-A Sugar Land. He returned to the big-league club on June 15, but still hadn’t registered his first MLB hit until Sunday night.

And it was a big one.

The former Arizona Wildcats infielder smacked a solo home run to the opposite field in the fourth inning of Houston’s 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

First of many MLB home runs for @TweetinJ_23! #BearDown pic.twitter.com/INXiSZPIb9

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) June 20, 2022

The homer landed in the famed Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park, with 16-year-old Astros fan Rylan Freeman ending up with the milestone ball. Then the negotiating began.

When all was said and done, Matijevic got the ball he knocked out of the park and Freeman got a bunch of swag, including a signed jersey from Houston pitcher Justin Verlander.

16-year-old Rylan Freeman of Corpus got a signed Justin Verlander jersey for coming up with J.J. Matijevic’s first career homer. Verlander signed it “Nice catch.” Freeman, a pitcher on a high school team that won the 3A state title this month, idolizes Verlander. pic.twitter.com/9Eq1zcjXmu

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 20, 2022

Matijevic, 26, played at Arizona from 2015-17, helping the Wildcats reach the College World Series championship series in 2016 and then bat .383 as a junior. That led to Houston taking him in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

Filed Under: University of Arizona

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Diamondbacks can't hold early lead against Giants
  • Phoenix Suns officially announce Devin Booker signing supermax extension
  • Gameday Thread, #82: 7/6 vs. Giants
  • Game #82: 7/6 Giants 7 @ Diamondbacks 5
  • 5-star guard Kylan Boswell reclassifies, will play for Arizona in 2022-23 season

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM
  • Bleacher Report
  • Heat Waved
  • OurSports Central
  • The Arizona Republic
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • AZ Snake Pit
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Venom Strikes

Basketball

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Bright Side Of The Sun
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Valley Of The Suns

Football

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Cardinals Gab
  • Cards Wire
  • Deep Dive
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Raising Zona
  • Revenge Of The Birds
  • Words From The Birds

Hockey

  • Elite Prospects
  • Five For Howling
  • Howlin Hockey
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • AZ Desert Swarm
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Devils In Detail
  • House Of Sparky
  • Last Word On College Basketball - Univ of Arizona
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog
  • Zona Zealots

Copyright © 2022 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in