FAYETTEVILLE — After Tom Pagnozzi signed to play baseball at the University of Arkansas for the 1983 season, he was counting on Razorbacks coach Norm DeBriyn to teach him to become a catcher.
Pagnozzi starred at Tucson (Ariz.) Rincon High School and Central Arizona Junior College as a third baseman, but scouts told him his best chance to get to the big leagues was as a catcher.
Major colleges such as Arizona, Arizona State and Oklahoma State let Pagnozzi know he could have a shot to catch, but if it didn’t work out he would play third base to make sure was in the lineup after he batted .