Sitting in the clubhouse prior to a Bowie Baysox game, Beau Hale is a man among boys.
The 27-year-old right-hander is in his seventh year of professional baseball and still trying to live up to the hype of being the 14th overall selection by the Baltimore Orioles out of Texas in the 2000 draft. While injuries have derailed a once-promising career, they have not diminished his passion or desire to achieve his ultimate goal of one day pitching in the major leagues.
After missing all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons with shoulder injuries, Hale appears to finally be healthy enough to get above Double-A for the first time in his career. He entered this week 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings.
“The biggest thing is I never wanted to give up, and they never gave up on me,” Hale said. “My thought was: ?I?m going to make them quit on me before I quit.? That was the mindset I was going with, and thankfully, they never quit on me.”
Hale entered this season with a 6-6 record and 3.33 ERA in a career-high 31 games between Single-A Frederick and Bowie last season. For his efforts, the Orioles named him the Moe Drabowsky Comeback Player of the Year Award winner.
“It was real special to me to win the award because Moe was the one who spent the most time with me in Florida rehabbing,” Hale said. “He was a great guy and a real ambassador of the game. When you?re going through the worst part of your career rehabbing, he made it fun.”
Bowie pitching coach Scott McGregor said he would like nothing more than for Hale to get his chance with the Orioles, or at least with another team if it doesn?t work out.
“He knows how to set up hitters,” McGregor said. “He has command of his pitches, and he has command of his emotions. He?s a big-league pitcher, but with the pitchers we have right now in the majors, I think he would be more of a bullpen guy. I think it?s to the point with him now where he is going to make a charge to get to the big leagues.”
