A few of the best recent MLB-versus-college moments to get you pumped for 2016

When the Phillies take the diamond at Bright House Field for their second-annual matchup against the University of Tampa Spartans, it will be the first actual baseball game of Spring Training 2016. Yes, it means baseball is back (holy moley, it's back!!!), but it also means we're treated to another slate of collegiate exhibition games -- which are worth celebrating in their own right.
Because, yes, it's great to see our MLB favorites back in action after a bleak, desolate winter. But there's something about these pro-college games that serves as a reminder that baseball is, above all, fun. And some rather interesting things can happen in these games, too -- if you're paying attention. 
Below are a few very recent highlights from MLB-college exhibition games to get you pumped up. Feel free to drop this knowledge when a disbeliever asks you why you're watching the pros take on college kids...
Ruben Amaro's nephew helped his team beat the Phillies
Yes, these games can be competitive. Just ask the UT Spartans, who pulled off a 6-2 win over the Phillies last year -- thanks in no small part to Andrew Amaro, whose uncle just happened to be the Philly GM at the time. The younger Amaro drew a bases-loaded walk for the tying run and finished the day 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. 

No wonder the Phillies drafted him three months later. 
The Red Sox honored Pete Frates, creator of the Ice Bucket Challenge
Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and created the Ice Bucket Challenge, captained the Boston College Eagles against the Red Sox in 2007. Eight years later, the Sox and Eagles honored him during their Spring Training exhibition, both teams wearing his No. 3 and donating proceeds of the game to Frates' charity. 

These games are a lot of fun, but they can make a difference, too. 
Future big leaguers got their first taste of pro competition
The thing about these college kids facing off against Major Leaguers -- a lot of them end up playing professionally, and some even end up Major Leaguers themselves. Just in the past few years, players who've gone from exhibition competition to MLB colleagues include:
Florida State University vs. Phillies, 2012: In his Blue Jays debut against the Yankees, Devon Travis went 1-for-2 with a home run and a pair of walks. His first game against an MLB team, though, went a bit less well: Travis went 0-for-3 when the Seminoles took on Philadelphia. 
University of Miami vs. Marlins, 2010: Yasmani Grandal recorded a hit and scored a run against the Marlins, and then the Reds took him 12th overall in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. 
Boston College vs. Red Sox, 2009: Future Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez went 1-for-2 against the Red Sox, getting a hit off Minor Leaguer Kris Johnson.
It just goes to show: You never know when these faces might pop up again.
Jameis Winston played against the Yankees less than two months after winning the BCS
On Jan. 6, 2014, Winston and the Florida State football team won the BCS National Championship. Fifty days later, on Feb. 25, 2014, Winston and the FSU baseball team played the Yankees. 
But instead of throwing touchdown passes, Winston ... grounded out to second:

That's probably why he chose the NFL, right?
Paul Molitor coached against his college teammate
In his first game as Twins manager, Molitor led the team to a 3-1 victory over his alma mater -- whose head coach, John Anderson, was a former teammate of Molitor's at the University of Minnesota. In fact, it was Anderson, not Molitor, who won Team MVP on the Gophers' '77 College World Series team. So this may have been a bit of a revenge:

Also facing his alma mater that game was Twins closer and former Gopher Glen Perkins.