Baseball: Hale eyes jump to majors

Experience in such a competitive league could prove helpful for Hale, who is consistently projected to be picked somewhere in the top 70 slots of this year’s MLB draft. In September, espn.com’s Keith Law ranked Hale as the No. 52 prospect in the country.

Hale said his experience in Cape Cod helped him size up his opponents.

“There was really good competition, and it was good to see how you stacked up against everyone,” he said. “[Senior right-handed pitcher] Brad Gemberling was on another one of the teams, and then there were one or two more Ivy Leaguers up there.”

Playing in Massachusetts was only part of Hale’s summer experience: He also met with officials from the New York Mets, a team that has had notoriously faulty pitching in the last two years.

“They invited me to see their new stadium,” Hale said. “I got to meet the general manager, Omar Minaya, and a few other guys, like their scouting director.”

Hale added that he was invited to watch the stadium construction from the team president’s office.

Still, Hale refuses to get ahead of himself. When asked about his future in baseball, he remained vague.

“I hope it all works out. If it does, that will be awesome,” he said. “I’m just praying it works out.”

Hale’s journey to becoming a top MLB prospect has not been entirely typical.

Growing up in Marietta, Ga., Hale played in the infield for the first three years of high school at the Walker School. He only started to pitch regularly his senior year.

Indeed, his bat is what brought him early accolades. As a junior, he batted .532, which was enough to earn him an award for being the team’s top offensive athlete: As a senior, he was named the team’s most valuable player after hitting 10 home runs.

Hale’s hitting ability has not left him as he shifts to focusing on pitching. He hit five home runs last year, with a .339 average and 29 RBI. Still, the righthander said he recognizes the path ahead of him.

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“My future is pitching,” Hale said. “This will be the end of my hitting.”

Hale said his best pitch is his fastball, which is consistently in the 92-to-94 mile-per-hour range, according to an October report in Baseball America. He added that he worked on his slider and changeup with Gemberling this summer.

“It looks a lot like I’m going to have some strong pitches this year,” he said.

Still, Hale noted that his fondest baseball memory didn’t specifically involve hitting or pitching. Instead, it came during the Georgia state playoffs hise senior year of high school.

“[There was] a game up in North Georgia, and all the country kids had their trucks out beyond the outfield,” Hale said. “We ended up losing the game, two to one, but it was the most fun I have ever had playing baseball.”

Looking at the Tigers’ upcoming season, Hale seems optimistic.

“I wish I could say my [college] highlight was winning the Ivy League,” he said. “We should win it. If we don’t, we did something wrong. We have so much talent on this team, it’s unbelievable.”

In particular, Hale is eager to get another shot at Princeton’s top rivals.

“[I’m looking forward to] all the Ivy League [games]. That’s going to be really fun,” he said. “I want to show other teams how good we are … I definitely want to beat up on all those guys. I want a ring of my own.”

Hale said he had not reached out to any former Princeton players who are now in the major league, though three alums — San Diego Padre pitcher Chris Young ’02, Padre outfielder Will Venable ’05 and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf ’05 — played in the majors last year.

“[Head coach Scott Bradley] has given me Chris Young’s e-mail [address], but I haven’t e-mailed him,” Hale said. “I should probably do that eventually.