Back in 2003, Realtree Roadtrips seemingly reinvented the entire concept of “the hunting show.” 20 years later, the Realtree Roadtrips brand is stronger than ever. After a brief hiatus, the program returned for a fresh start in 2020. The lead host for the show is Tyler Jordan. He’s the son of legendary Realtree founder Bill Jordan. Tyler Jordan’s frequent co-hosts include country music stars Riley Green and Jon Langston. Their hunts feature in-the-moment social media coverage on Instagram and a super fast turnaround time on full-length videos. That means it’s as close to a “live” hunting show as there is. And oh yeah. The fourth co-host? That’s Major League Baseball All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner Austin Riley.
The 25-year-old Riley was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft. The contract they offered him was good enough that he gave up his scholarship to Mississippi State University. He then went straight to the minor leagues instead. By 2019 he had navigated the farm system gauntlet and made his way to the big leagues. His big league career started as a little bit of a slow burn, but then he caught fire. In 2021 he want the Silver Slugger Award which recognized him as the best hitting 3rd baseman in the league. He also helped lead Atlanta to a World Series title that same year. He hit .303 with 33 bombs and 107 RBIs that year.
In 2022 he slashed .273/39/93 and was selected for his first MLB All-Star game appearance. He is bound to be an Atlanta Brave for a long time into the future too. Last year he signed a franchise-record 10-year contract extension for $212 million.
Austin Riley Still Finds Time To Turkey Hunt During Spring Break
Given the overlap between MLB spring training and turkey season, most of his appearances on Realtree Roadtrips have traditionally been deer hunts which take place in the fall and after baseball season. However given that the Braves spend Spring Training in Florida, one of the best turkey-hunting states in the nation he still finds time to get outside and chase gobblers.
His first spring training turkey hunt actually took place as part of Realtree’s Spring Thunder program a few years ago. He teamed up with Tyler Jordan for that hunt, and although his schedule was tight he was still able to make a little magic happen. Despite being a highly accomplished deer hunter, this was actually Austin Riley’s first successful gobbler hunt.
By the next spring, Realtree Roadtrips was back in full swing and Austin Riley returned again for another on-camera turkey hunt with Tyler Jordan. This hunt couldn’t have been scripted any better. After starting the day in the dark with some fresh Dunkin’ Donuts, #27 for Los Bravos was lucky enough to hammer another bird into the dirt. Riley lets his 12-gauge eat like the gobbler is a fastball down the pipe as the bird goes spinning over the fence for a round-tripper. That good luck carried over into the baseball season too. This hunt took place before that 2021 season when Riley really burst onto the scene and exploded with his first truly monstrous season at the plate in the major leagues.
Check Out The Newest Episode Of Realtree Roadtrips With The Braves Star 3rd Basemen
Now check out the most recent edition of a Realtree Roadtrips hunt with Austin Riley. He’s back in Florida and getting after the gobblers again. After some initial confusion about whether or not he remembered to bring his gun, Riley was prepared to try to take out a longbeard with a baseball bat if he needed to. But after a cup of coffee and tracking down a gun, the hunt was back on. It starts off with an absolutely magical-looking sunrise in the foggy Florida swamp. The hunters have a few closed calls initially, but can’t quite get a shot off. After chasing birds all over the property, Riley simply ran out of time and had to get back to baseball. That means the turkeys won this game this time around, something that’s bound to stir up some memories of those old ’98 Braves.