FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas reliever Colby Suggs has a interesting nickname for teammate DJ Baxendale.
He calls him Steve.
“I don’t really understand where Steve came from.” Baxendale said Wednesday, before Arkansas left for Omaha, Neb. “But it’s a running joke between us.”
That’s probably the point. Teammate Brandon Moore doubts anyone has the answer to Baxendale’s nickname outside of Suggs. That’s how he wants it.
Every baseball team has a unique character who leaves you scratching your head or rolling in laughter. Suggs is the guy for the Razorbacks (44-20) as they prepare for their College World Series opener against Kent State (46-18) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The sophomore, who is from Sulphur Springs, Texas, admits he’s a little “off-kilter” and even “crazy,” but is only doing his job.
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“Just help everybody out and just do everything I can to be positive every day,” Suggs said.
So Suggs — who Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said has become so influential with teammates he is an unofficial team captain — is a big reason the Razorbacks remained loose through hard times.
But it isn’t his only responsibility. He’s also a big reason they’ve reached the College World Series, too, setting aside the light-hearted locker room mentality and replacing it with a pitbull’s tenacity on the mound in tight situations.
“He knows when to get serious,” Moore said. “When he steps on that rubber it’s all business.”
Suggs is 7-0 with a 1.22 earned run average this season, emerging as a hard-throwing late-inning specialist for a team loaded with quality arms. His most important work came Monday night, when Suggs came out of the bullpen to keep Baylor scoreless in the ninth and 10th innings. The results helped the Razorbacks wrap up their sixth trip to the College World Series.
“It’s what you dream of as a kid. Every kid. It’s all the same for every ball player,” said Suggs, who struck out the final batter with two runners on base to wrap up the super regional victory. “Bottom of the ninth, two outs or whatever. You want your name called and you want to be in there when the game’s tied. I think every person on this team loves that kind of excitement and adrenaline.”
It has taken a steady maturation to get there for Suggs, who played center on his high school football team and “looked like Larry Csonka” when assistant coach Todd Butler first saw him.
“He had the bull neck brace on his neck,” Butler remembered. “He was just a big ol’ guy.”
Suggs’ fastball also hit 95 the first time Butler saw him pitch, too. But his lineman strengths hindered is ability to throw strikes consistently. So while 2011 signing classmates like Moore, Barrett Astin, Ryne Stanek and Nolan Sanburn played big roles as Arkansas freshmen, Suggs was limited to 20 innings in 12 appearances last season.
He has worked hard on his flexibility and the improvement is clear. Suggs has appeared in 29 games, allowing just five runs. The Razorbacks have teamed Suggs with Astin at the back end of the bullpen, handing the ball to each to close games.
“It’s a little mentally exhausting,” Suggs said of the relief role. “When your name gets called you have to go out there and perform. You know you have to come out every day ready to do your job.”
The 6-foot, 225-pound right-hander has had no trouble proving himself in those regards, challenging Baylor hitters with a fastball that hit 97 miles per hour on the radar in Baylor Ballpark. He also mixed in what Van Horn called a “nasty slider,” which touched 85 in Arkansas’ win.
“That’s big-league stuff,” Van Horn said. “He’s making a name for himself for next year.”
If it happens, Van Horn said Suggs deserves the accolades because he’s a “big-time leader” whose “makeup is off the charts.” No one in Arkansas’ locker room commands more respect, which is impressive considering the team has veteran leaders like Baxendale, Matt Reynolds and Bo Bigham.
It’s a role Suggs takes very seriously even though he wasn’t elected a team captain for 2012. He said the mentality comes from high school football, when coaches looked to the center to push teammates. Suggs admits his football background can be blamed for some of his wackiness as well.
“As a lineman, you learn to be a little off-kilter, off-center in your head,” Suggs said. “As a late relief guy, you’ve got to kind of be a little crazy too. … And, yeah, I’m a little off.”
It has been an effective combination for the Hogs, who know they’ll be in good hands whether Suggs is keeping everyone loose in the dugout or closing out tight games on his own in Omaha.
“He’s a big kid,” Moore said. “But we love him.”