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Cubs News

How Cubs catcher P.J. Higgins transitioned from infielder to catcher

2 years agoMatt Danielewicz

Cubs catcher P.J. Higgins stopped by the broadcast Tuesday night to reflect on hitting his first home run of his major league career during Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader.

The moment felt surreal, he said.

“After getting back to the big leagues and being able to hit my first one right there, that moment was unreal,” Higgins said.

But Higgins wasn’t done with “unreal” moments there. 

After joining the broadcast, he entered Tuesday night’s game in the 6th inning and promptly hit a homer in his first trip to the plate.

For the second day in a row, it came off Brewers reliever Trevor Kelley.

During the broadcast interview, Higgins also talked about his defense. He has played in 15 games so far in his young career and has learned a lot about the position from teammate Willson Contreras.

“I pick his brain about the game defensively and being able to talk to him constantly throughout the Spring Trainings throughout the years,” Higgins said. “He’s a great catcher and anything that he gives me I just try to absorb it and run from there.”

Before Higgins turned pro, he only caught occasionally in college at Old Dominion. He was drafted in 2015 as an infielder before transitioning to playing mostly catcher in 2016 in the Cubs system.

“I knew it was an option but I didn’t know the full aspect of catching,” Higgins said. “It was a bit of a grind. It wasn’t easy at first.”

To hear more, watch the full interview above. 

 

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