How Stanford teammates Kris Bubic and Nico Hoerner made it to The Show so fast
Last Thursday morning, the phones of former Stanford baseball players started blowing up with texts in group chats and direct messages on Twitter. The news that one of their old teammates had reached the big leagues — another one — brought smiles to their faces.
It was crazy enough last September, when Nico Hoerner went from sitting on his parents’ couch to playing for the Chicago Cubs. Now the Kansas City Royals had promoted Kris Bubic to pitch in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the news broke, Bubic began reaching out to his family members and closest friends. Hoerner read Bubic’s text from Cincinnati, where the Cubs were essentially confined to their hotel and Great American Ball Park. They immediately spoke on FaceTime.
The two Bay Area natives met in high school and competed in the region’s Area Code Games. Stanford coaches recruited them and watched them blossom. They played together in the Cape Cod...