Heels in the Pros: How are UNC baseball players doing in MLB?

We check in with former UNC players who are currently in the MLB

Baseball. It’s as American as apple pie.

There is a reason it is called the America’s favorite pastime. Baseball has inspired such great pieces as Casey at the Bat, Terry Cashman’s Talkin Baseball, and Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on First. It has led to such great movies as Bull Durham, The Sandlot, Major League, and many, many more.

When summertime hits, so does baseball and the boys of summer, and they rarely fail to disappoint. And just like as in any other sport, the Heels are proud to represent in baseball as well.

There have been some great players to have come through the Tar Heels ranks over the years. There was Walt Weiss, who now manages the Rockies. BJ Shuroff and Brian Roberts were former Heels who made names for themselves as Orioles.

However, the most famous Heel was Moonlight Graham. Graham is best known not for his career but for his portrayal by Burt Lancaster in Field of Dreams. In the movie, Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, met Moonlight Graham in Minnesota after the voice told him to “Go the Distance”. When Kinsella and author Terrence Mann, played by James Earl Jones, arrive in Graham’s small town, they discover Graham, who had become a doctor, had passed away several years before.

As the story continues, through what can only be seen as magic, Kinsella ends up going back in time, meeting Graham and finding out his one wish. That wish is later fulfilled and in a touching moment, Graham gives up his dream to save a young girl (I know that is a very brief description, but if you’ve seen the film you know what I am saying. If you haven’t you need to).

Of course that is all history and tall tales. What about the Heels in the pros today? There are eight current Heels on Major League rosters. Let’s take a look at each one.

Next: Dustin Ackley