TCU Baseball alumni honored with commemorative bobbleheads

Three former TCU Baseball greats have now received one of the highest honors you can earn in athletics — their very own bobbleheads.

FOCO, a premier manufacturer of officially licensed sports and novelty products, released three TCU-centric bobbleheads in their Gates Collection: pitchers Alex Young and Jake Arrieta and long time Cardinals star Matt Carpenter. Each bobble is limited to 144 pieces and costs $50.00.

Young, a left handed pitcher out of Illinois, went 17-10 in three seasons at TCU — from 2013-2015 — including a 9-3 final season that led to him being drafted in the second round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young had a career 2.39 ERA in college and is 2-4 with a 3.51 ERA this season for the D’Backs.

Jake Arrieta was one of the first big name players to come out the of the TCU Baseball program; the right hander out of Plano spent two seasons with the Frogs after starting his collegiate career at Weatherford College, going 23-7 with a 2.66 ERA before being selected in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Orioles.

Arrieta spent four seasons in Baltimore before signing with the Chicago Cubs, where he won 68 games across five seasons, including his 22-6 campaign in 2015, a season that earned him National League Cy Young honors. After three seasons in Philly, Arrieta returned to the Cubs this offseason and is currently 5-5 with a 4.41 ERA.

The final player of the series is slugger Matt Carpenter, the gold standard for TCU hitters to this day. Carp spent five seasons with the Frogs, from 2005-2009, highlighted by his 2006 campaign when he started all 62 games, batting .349 with 40 runs scored, 36 RBI, and 10 doubles. In his final season, he hit .333, starting all 58 games, scoring 58 runs and driving in 69, while tying his career high with 11 home runs.

The Sugar Land native did it the hard way: just a 13th round draft pick, he worked his way up through the Cardinals system, making his MLB debut in 2011 and becoming a full-time player a year later. Carp has batted .264 across 11 seasons with 155 career home runs, finishing in the top 12 in MVP voting three times, earning Silver Slugger honors in 2013, and is a three-time All Star. Though he is off to a slow start in 2021, Carp is one of the all time greats to suit up to St Louis and is a 2019 TCU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.

You can order your TCU Baseball bobbleheads HERE.