MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Never say never: ’Zona star heads to S.C.

Published: July 11, 2012 

Arizona's Robert Refsnyder celebrates after scoring a run in the ninth inning during the final series of the 2012 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE.

Gerry Melendez — gmelendez@thestate.comBuy Photo

In the world of the Charleston Riverdogs, fun is good.

That’s the mantra of the South Atlantic League team’s president and co-owner Mike Veeck and his director of fun, Bill Murray.

So with the arrival of former Arizona Wildcat outfielder Robert Refsnyder — he of the infamous anti-South Carolina tweet — it’s no surprise to hear there already have been discussions on how to deal with the potential hoopla.

The College World Series MVP signed with the New York Yankees this week for a $205,000 signing bonus after being selected in the fifth round of last month’s draft. He was scheduled to make his debut Tuesday night.

“Well, when we heard last week that he might be coming here, we had a short promotion meeting about it,” said David Echols, the team’s executive vice president and general manager.

Refsnyder ruffled the feathers of Gamecock fans last month with a series of Twitter statements following Arizona’s victory against USC in the CWS.

Born in South Korea and adopted by a California couple when he was 3 months old, Refsnyder said he could hear fans in Omaha making racial slurs and going so far as to issue death threats against his parents. That led him to tweet, “I will never live in South Carolina because they can’t accept Asians playing baseball.”

Refsnyder, who is affable and easy-going by nature, was surprised by the subsequent response of USC fans and quickly deleted the comment and offered an apology.

“Poor judgment on my part,” Refsnyder said in a later tweet. “I apologize, nothing but respect for South Carolina and Ray Tanner.”

Echols said he and his Riverdogs staff will take some time to get to know Refsnyder. If he’s up to it, the team might have a little good-natured fun.

“We’ll get a sense for how things are developing,” Echols said with a laugh. “We’ll probably chew on it and see if something comes out of it, but for now, nothing’s on the table.”

Order Reprint Back to Top

Find a Home

$450,000 Columbia
3 bed, 2 full bath. Fabulous view of The Stadium and the...

Find a Car

Search New Cars
Ads by Yahoo!