Joe Hayden essentially created the Midland Baseball organization more than 50 years ago out of a sense of frustration. He and his wife, Lois, were watching their sons compete at an unacceptable level during a Cincinnati-area youth game, and Joe decided right there and then to take over the coaching duties himself.
It was the start of something special as Hayden built Midland Baseball – and more specifically, the Midland Redskins – into one of first and one of the most successful travel ball organizations in the country. Hayden – known affectionately by many of his former players as “Papa Joe” – passed away on Nov. 29 at the age of 85 after battling cancer.
Since its official beginning in 1966, Midland Baseball has produced 71 major league players, had more than 500 players drafted – including at least 43 in the first round – and right around 2,000 more receive college scholarships.
Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin, future Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr., St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny and current big-leaguers and former first-round draft picks Eric Hosmer, Zack Greinke and Matt Harvey are among some of the notable Redskins’ alumni.
“We just had the funeral and the visitation, and Mike Matheny was back and Eric Hosmer was back,” Brian Hiler, Midland Baseball’s business manager since 1998, told Perfect Game. “Whether you were a big-leaguer or you went off and you became a lawyer, he was just proud that you became a productive person in society. That’s the biggest thing that he cared about.”
Hiler said former Midland players drove in from as far away as Texas and New Jersey just to pay their respects. “He always did it with class,” Hiler said.
“He was a fantastic guy,” Larkin, who is credited with giving Hayden his “Papa Joe” nickname, told Bill Koch from the Cincinnati Enquirer.com. “He was very open. He was a tough guy and he’d make the guys play hard. He was successful running the Midland program because I believe he set the kind of standard for how he expected his players to play and how to act on and off the field.”
Hayden served as the CEO The Midland Company for 40 years and helped build it into a Fortune 2000 company specializing in insurance and river transportation; he was also a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Cincinnati. But he always found time for his beloved Redskins baseball team and its young players.
“He did about anything for any kid at any time,” Hiler said. “Obviously, he also had a company to run, but if a kid called (the kid) was the most important thing – it didn’t matter how big of a business meeting he might be in, Joe Hayden was going to take that call.”
It is Hiler’s belief that Joe Hayden laid the groundwork for what has become the booming travel ball industry, as Midland Baseball became one of the first organizations to bring players in from outside of its base area. At some point Hayden found he had some holes to fill in his roster and realized he might have to go outside of the Cincinnati area to fill those holes.
“In 1989 he brought in Mike Matheny and a few other guys and I think the rest is history,” Hiler said. “He was kind of the guy who thought way ahead of everybody else about doing this kind of thing, and thought, hey, if I have some holes to fill I can fill them with guys maybe from outside of the city.
“With all of the great programs out there bringing in guys from around the country, I think he was the guy who started it all.”
The Reds Scout Team and Braves Scout Team – both affiliated with Midland Baseball – won back-to-back Perfect Game WWBA World Championships in Jupiter, Fla., in 2006 and 2007 with Hosmer being named the Most Valuable Player at the 2007 event. Hayden also took a great deal of pride in the 13 Connie Mack World Series Championships the organization won since 1968.
“The titles are legendary – 13 Connie Mack’s (World Series championships) isn’t bad,” Hiler said. “He always wanted to go the Connie Mack route because you had a state tournament, you had a regional tournament and then you had the World Series, and he always liked that about the College World Series; the fact that you had to take a few steps to get there.”
The Midland Redskins brought a relatively young team to Jupiter in late October, with 10 underclassmen on the roster. Tyler Duvall (2016, Vanderbilt recruit), Gavin Lux (2016, Virginia Tech), Austin McNicholas (2016, Texas), Chase Murray (2016, Georgia Tech) and Dion Henderson (2016, Kentucky) are among the top prospects that could return to play with the Redskins in 2015. Papa Joe would be proud.
“Joe always said American’s greatest asset is its youth and I think that continues on; this thing goes on and the party keeps going,” Hiler said. “I think his legacy is the kids. He always did it for the kids.”