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RYAN HONEYCUTT (UNM baseball)
(posted April 8, 2009)
Life as a .500 hitter isn’t easy.
UNM sophomore outfielder Ryan Honeycutt saw his batting average dip last week because he hit a measly .454 against nationally ranked TCU.
Honeycutt’s loud bat has contributed heavily to UNM’s prolific offense, which is the country’s best in several categories. The Las Cruces High graduate ranks third nationally, carrying a .505 average in to this week’s series against Utah. Honeycutt is one of only three hitters in all of Division I baseball to hit above .471.
After practice on Tuesday afternoon, Honeycutt sat down with The Team.
THE TEAM: You have a higher batting average in college than you did in high school or JC. How does that happen?
RYAN HONEYCUTT: I credit a lot of that to the coaches. They’ve really worked with me a lot since I’ve been here. Everyday. It’s starting to come along. There’s a lot of room for improvement though. … Now I’m hitting the ball to all fields than I ever did. (They got) me out of a slugger’s mindset and into more of a hitter.
THE TEAM: What was your reaction when you heard you led the nation in hitting?
HONEYCUTT: It was cool. It’s cool to be mentioned with some of the same names you read about or hear on TV. Bottom line is, it’s not about where you start or where you are in the middle of the season. It’s where you finish. That’s what I want to do. First of all, I want to go out and get a ring, win the Mountain West, get a regional. Individually I have goals for myself. Why can’t somebody go out there and hit .500, .600.
THE TEAM: Do you miss playing football (he was an all-state player for the Bulldawgs)?
HONEYCUTT: Definitely. I miss the games, I don’t miss the preparation. But baseball’s my first love.
THE TEAM: You list Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. as two of your three favorite athletes. Anybody you’d like to box?
HONEYCUTT: (Laughs) Nah. I used to mess around with that and do a little kickboxing and stuff back in the day. I was in wrestling. I just like those guys. I like the way they go and compete. I like their ferociousness. It’d be fun to get the gloves out, but I’d much rather be doing this than going out and getting hit in the face.
THE TEAM: Who has been most influential in your baseball career? Why?
HONEYCUTT: My dad (Jeff), by far, has been the most influential person in my life. Ever since I was younger, he coached me. He taught me everything I know. He gave me the foundation of what I have now. I thank him a lot. … Even to this day, I talk to him every day. About baseball. About life. Whatever. I’m very blessed to have him in my life. … He coached me with that football mentality. It made my skin pretty thick.
THE TEAM: When was the last time you bought a pack of baseball cards?
HONEYCUTT: I had to have been 8 or 9 years old. It’s been a long time.
THE TEAM: You guys have lost five of seven since your 22-3 start. How do you get your mojo back?
HONEYCUTT: Like coach B(irmingham) said, every team goes through this low point in the season. It’s bound to happen. Luckily we’re in a good spot where we still control our destiny. We go out and we win the games we need to win, we’ll be right there. In a couple weeks we’ll be winning so much we’ll look back and this won’t even bother us. Right now it’s tough, but it’s something we’ve got to get over.
THE TEAM: Any baseball superstitions?
HONEYCUTT: Always the night before I try to eat some kind of chicken. It’s got to be Popeyes or Church’s, either one. It’s not really superstition, just something I like to do. I started doing it at the beginning of the year and we were winning, so I kind of kept doing it.
THE TEAM: What do you remember about the first time you played an organized baseball game?
HONEYCUTT: Well the first time I ever it in t-ball – I’m a lefty – I saw everybody hitting the ball and running to first, across from where they were looking. So I hit the ball and ran to third. That was the first time I ever went on the field and hit a ball. Then I ran across the field and back to first.
THE TEAM: Fill in the blank. I’m really sick of hearing about …
HONEYCUTT: (San Diego State junior ace) Stephen Strasburg. I’m sick of hearing about that guy. He’s a good ballplayer. I’m sure he’s going to be really tough to hit, but I’m just sick and tired about hearing all the stuff about him. I’m ready to start playing him already.
THE TEAM: What’s your favorite chick flick?
HONEYCUTT: Probably have to be “The Notebook.” I watch that with my girlfriend a couple times.
THE TEAM: Another fill-in-the-blank. I’d be too embarrassed to buy …
HONEYCUTT: I wouldn’t be embarrassed to buy anything. I’ve got a pretty good sense of humor. I don’t get embarrassed real easy.
THE TEAM: What’s your favorite Opening Day memory?
HONEYCUTT: I have a lot of them. I love baseball so much I just sit there and watch. For me personally, it was the first time I ever stepped on the field as a Lobo. I looked around, I’m here. It’s DI. It’s real. Juco was fun and all that. And high school. But it’s real now.
THE TEAM: What website do you frequent the most?
HONEYCUTT: The Mountain West website. I like to see what other teams are doing. I’m a big YouTube guy. I like to kill some time on that. … I’m a huge Dave Chapelle fan. Anything he does I think is hilarious. My favorite’s the “World Series of Dice.” We’ve done that a lot. We play dice on road games.
- As told to James Staley
