A s they’ve always said — chicks dig a long snapper who can hit the long ball. Ok, maybe that’s not the exact phrasing, but J.J. Jansen sure put on a show Monday night.

The Panthers’ long snapper and about 20 of his teammates visited their neighbors’ new digs, taking batting practice before the Charlotte Knights’ game at BB&T Ballpark. But only two Panthers were able to hit pitches over the fence. The final home-run tally: Jansen — 7, quarterback Joe Webb — 2, everyone else — 0.

Afterward, while his teammates went up to their suite for the game, Jansen stayed on the field handling a number of interview requests. Just like what always happens with long snappers, obviously.

[iShare]”He’s upping the respect game for specialists everywhere … It proves our athleticism,” punter Brad Nortman quipped.[/iShare]

Many argue hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. So you’d think even a long snapper should find some new respect in the locker room after such a dominating performance.

“Probably not,” Jansen answered. “What little I have, it’ll boost whatever street cred I have.”

It’s not like Jansen’s power surge came out of nowhere. He played catcher and first base at his Phoenix-area high school, and said he could have walked on to a Division-I team. Plus, he swung the bat well in the Panthers last three annual batting practice trips. Yet each time Jansen finished second — in 2011 and 2012 to former tight end Gary Barnidge, and then to Chase Blackburn.

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 SEE MORE PICTURES FROM PANTHERS BATTING PRACTICE

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In his attempt to repeat, the linebacker, who hit four homers last summer, was shutout.

“You can blame it on anything,” Blackburn said, with sweat pouring down his face. “The sun — it’s not in your eyes, but it is. It’s hot. Coming out of a machine or from a pitcher’s hand is a lot different.”

To be fair, most of Jansen’s teammates had just one turn in the batter’s box. He went twice, hitting four out in his second try, including one that caromed off the left-field scoreboard.

And while his rep may not get a boost in the locker room, at least the Panthers’ best batter walked away with a coveted prize, right?

“Not even a pat on the back,” Jansen replied, before heading off to do another interview.

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BBR NUGGETS

• Perhaps Blackburn could’ve used some Superman socks in the batting cage. — Twitter
• Luke Kuechly with a towel on his head. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! — Twitter
• For someone who claims he’s happy in his new situation, Steve Smith is spending a lot of time talking about his past situation. — Instagram
• Mike Mitchell, the new Troy Polamalu? — NFL.com
• Why an English NFL fan picked the Panthers. — danrawly19891

 COMING UP

We were sent the link above Monday after asking to hear from Panthers fans who live outside the Carolinas. From Oslo to Singapore, we’ve already received more than 100 responses. We’re working on organizing everything on a user-friendly map, but in the meantime — if you sent in your info, but didn’t include a picture, we’d like to add one to your name and location. You can tweet it — and any new entries — to us, upload it in the comments section, or you can fill out this form: 

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