The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Going the distance: A-to-Z with Randy Boone
06.04.2005 | Baseball
A is for "Any Given Sunday"
"Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished...On this team, we fight for that inch...because we know when we add up all those inches that's going to make the difference between winning and losing." This is just a small excerpt of Randy's favorite movie lines from "Any Given Sunday." The inch-by-inch speech given by Al Pacino's character is quite lengthy, but inspiring. The analogy in the speech is made to football, but it can certainly apply to any team sport, like baseball, where every inch someone gives does matter.
B is for "Boondock Saints"
Maybe it's because his name is in the title of it, but this is one of Randy's favorite movies. He doesn't just have one favorite though. For example, he also enjoys movies that star his favorite actor, Robert Duval.
C is for Career Goals
Despite the fact that Randy has not chosen a major yet, he is thinking about corporate communications. He isn't sure what he wants to do for a career, but he definitely wants to do something related to sports. So, I guess he could be both the coach and the manager of his own baseball team.
D is for Do the Math
Randy's favorite class of all-time was his high school algebra II class that his basketball coach taught (probably one of the reasons it was his favorite), which might explain why he used mathematics to chose his current jersey number. He wore the number nine throughout high school, but since it was taken when he came to Texas, he did a little math and came up with 36 (3 + 6 = 9). He decided to stick with it even after nine became available because he likes double-digit numbers for a pitcher. Three and six were probably preferred over the other two number combos that equaled nine because three is considered a lucky number and six is twice as lucky - obviously making nine three times as lucky (3 x 3).
E is for Embarrassing Moment
Last year, while walking down the steps of the tower with boots on, Randy slipped and fell all the way down the stairs in front of a whole bunch of people. Luckily, he didn't know any of them, but he was still pretty embarrassed. I mean, you have to cut him a little break, it was a little wet, plus he was wearing boots.
F is for First in his Family
To go to college that is. Randy is the first of his immediate family to go to college, but not the first in his entire family because there were other members who went to college. For example, one of his uncles went to Texas A&I-Kingsville (now known as Texas A&M-Kingsville) and played football there while his cousin went to Rice and also played football.
G is for George Strait and Pat Green
While George Strait is Randy's favorite musician, Pat Green was the feature act of the first concert he ever attended back when he was a sophomore in high school. The last concert he attended was Charlie Robison. If it isn't obvious, he mostly listens to country, but he claims that he likes everything, which must be true because his favorite song is actually "One" by Metallica and his pitching song is "King Nothing," also by Metallica.
H is for Hairdresser
Randy's mom was a hairdresser before he was born. Now she is a substitute teacher at his old elementary school. But, the coolest thing about having a mom who used to be a hairdresser is that he gets free hair cuts all of the time. Nice. Meanwhile, in case you were wondering, his dad manages an oil field to make sure that all of the wells work.
I is for Inspiration
Most people's inspirations are older than they are, but for Randy, his inspiration is a 12-year-old child who was named Benjamin Gold. While he was in Stamford, Conn., in 2002 for the Senior Babe Ruth 16-18 year old World Series, he met Benjamin, who was the bat boy and child of his host family. The little boy was loved by everyone and was known for making all of the guys in the dugout laugh and being full of energy. Sadly, the young boy passed away that fall of 2002. Randy says being around the young boy made him appreciate the game of baseball and life so much more because the little boy loved life and was the happiest kid he had ever seen.
J is for Jabez
If he lost all his possessions, Randy says that he would keep his book called, "The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life", by Bruce Wilkinson and the letter one of his high school coaches gave him as a graduation present. In the book, the author puts prayer in perspective through a prayer of one faithful man named Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10. It makes sense that this book would be one thing he wouldn't want to lose because prayer helps you through the rough times, which you might be going through if you really did lose your possessions.
K is for Kyle McCulloch
Randy's partner in crime and closest roommate. But, apparently there is a battle between the two for who can come up with the wittiest comment of the day about one another. Randy says that they walk on thin ice around one another because if one of them does or says something stupid, they will hear about it for the rest of the day from the other. I wonder if Randy's most embarrassing moment counts...
L is for Live Local Music
Randy says his favorite thing about Austin is that there is always something to do. For example, every now and then, he will go check out live local bands play at Artz Rib House on Lamar. He likes to go there because it is a nice atmosphere and the food is great. Ribs and music - what a great combination!
M is for Montana
Randy loves open, rural areas. He says that Montana would be a great place to live other than Austin. However, he won't be moving there anytime soon because he is not a big fan of snow. But, if he ever does decide to visit, he should take his Blue Heeler Missy, which is also known as an Australian Cattle Dog. For a person who loves open country, he definitely chose the right dog.
N is for Nolan Ryan
In baseball, Randy admires Nolan Ryan. In fact, he thinks that the best moments in sports history are the seven career no-hitters that he threw. That is pretty amazing.
O is for Outdoors
Outside of baseball, Randy loves to fish and be outdoors. When he is back home in Yoakum, he likes to go out to his grandfather's pasture where there are three tanks stocked with catfish. You can also catch him fishing at the Guadalupe River. He also really enjoyed fishing at Cape Cod on Monomoy Bay when he played in the Cape Cod League for the Hyannis Mets this past summer.
Additionally, Randy loves to do any kind of woodwork. In fact, over the summer, Randy and a friend of his from Georgia worked on building a deck on the back porch of one of the houses in Cape Cod.
P is for Playing Baseball
As far back as he can remember, he has always played baseball. In fact, there are pictures of him when he was two years old, running around the house holding one of those huge red plastic bats. He didn't learn to love baseball from his family though. Rather, he saw it on television and would mimic it when he would be in his backyard playing with his family.
Q is for Quarterback
Back in high school, Randy was a quarterback, safety and punter in football, a guard and forward in basketball, and a pitcher and shortstop in baseball - wow! But, if he could play any other sport other than baseball, he says he would like to play football again because of the adrenaline rush it gave him. Still, when it comes down to it, baseball has always been his first love.
R is for Roomies
Randy gets along well with all of his roommates and has something to say about all of them. Drew Stubbs is the typical perfect guy (how typical is perfect, really?) because he has no problems and is awesome to live with. Meanwhile, Carson Kainer is the captain of "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons". He will quote anything and everything. He also has pretty good one-liners and is overall hilarious. Then, there's Kyle McCulloch, who as mentioned before, is the roommate Randy hangs out with the most because they have a lot in common and they like a lot of the same things. But what do Randy's roommates have to say about him? Well, he says his roommates would tell you that he's pretty quiet and that he can't go to Best Buy without spending money.
S is for Shelby
A 1964 Shelby GT Mustang in midnight blue with a white racing stripe down the middle...whew! You guessed it, this is Randy's dream car (along with many other Mustang lovers, although maybe not with the same specifications). Well, I still wouldn't sell his current vehicle - a 2004 Silver Chevy Tahoe - even if he got the Mustang because that vehicle is also very sweet.
T is for Texas Land and Cattle
Look for Randy to be there enjoying their smoked sirloin with mashed potatoes and their big, sweet, creamy - plain old cheesecake. Mmm! It may be plain, but it sure sounds good. But, when back in Yoakum, forget the steak! Bring on the Mexican food! He loves to eat the enchiladas from Mi Casa, which is a restaurant only in Yoakum. Other than that, you'll mostly find Randy eating anything barbequed.
U is for Under his Bed
Not very exciting, just a bunch of boxes and an ironing board that rarely gets used. But, on the walls of his bedroom, Randy has Texas pennants, a bulletin board with the baseball schedule on it (so he won't forget what days he has a game), the plaque that all of the 2004 Longhorns received as recognition for their achievements at the College World Series and a picture of Benjamin Gold.
V is for Very Competitive
Randy's competitive nature is something his teammates both get on him about and also commend him for. While his teammates praise him for going out on the mound and giving it everything his has all of the time, they also love to get on him for that competitiveness. For example, Seth Johnston does a good impersonation of Randy's reactions to pitches that he would have liked called strikes.
W is for War
If there was any moment in history Randy could have witnessed, it would be any of the battles of the Civil War because it is mind-boggling to him about how war changed over time. People just lined up and their chances of dying were pretty good, but yet they still found a way to make it work. It would be an interesting event to witness alright, but also pretty humbling.
X is for Xtra Innings...
Two of the biggest highlights at UT for Randy last year were the 20-inning game versus Kansas State, where he came on in relief and kept the game scoreless for 5.2 innings to help the Longhorns win the series opener with the Wildcats, and the Rice game where he picked up his third win of the year by combining with two other UT pitchers in a 5-0 shutout of the Owls. Now, after this year's Big 12 Tournament, I am sure I have a pretty good idea about what his biggest highlight of 2005 is so far...
Y is for Yoakum
Yoakum is a small town that doesn't normally breed Longhorns, but Aggies. That is why it is interesting that Randy has been a Longhorns fan since he was a kid. He wanted to come to UT simply because he grew up always wanting to come here. Texas fans are sure glad that he chose to don the burnt orange and white!
Z is for Zoinks!
Like, Scoob, I can't believe both Randy and Drew are Scooby Doo fans! I'm sure Drew and Randy sit in front of the television and try to figure out who the ghost is every time they watch it. They are both into Scooby Doo because they enjoy trying to figure out mysteries, even in movies. I wonder which one is Shaggy and which one is Scooby? Jinkies, maybe they are both like Velma, who usually figures out the mystery in the end.