SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – On Feb. 20, 2011, true freshman Cory Hahn became the starting center-fielder for the No. 11-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils in what was only the third game of his collegiate career; it was also the second game of a non-conference double-header against the visiting New Mexico Lobos at ASU’s historic Packard Stadium.
Hahn received a walk in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, and with a runner on second a double-steal was called. Hahn slid head-first into second base and his head collided violently with the knee of the NMU second baseman and h was instantly unable to move his body at all. It was later determined he had suffered a fracture of his C5 vertebrae and his spinal cord was compressed; he was left a quadriplegic, paralyzed from his mid-chest down.
In the five years since incurring that devastating injury, the now 24-year-old Cory Hahn has overcome unfathomable obstacles and is forging ahead with a new career in the game he loves. The Arizona Diamondbacks told Hahn that if he completed his degree program at ASU they would select him in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft and offer him a job within the organization.
With the unwavering help of his father Dale – who moved from California to Tempe and into his own small, one-bedroom apartment so he could be close at hand to assist with his son’s day-to-day living demands – Cory returned to school and in the spring of 2014 received an economics degree from ASU’s business college, taking 20 credit hours a semester for three straight semesters so he could graduate with his class. Cory is also quick to point out that he has received unfailing support from his mother, Christine, who remained in California but visits frequently, and his brother, Jason, now a senior at the University of Colorado.
The D-backs selected Hahn in the 34th-round of the 2013 draft, with the round replicating his Sun Devils’ uniform number. Upon graduation, he was hired as an assistant in the Scout Ahead Development Program, a position in Arizona’s scouting department.
Since that time, the Diamondbacks and ASU worked together to create the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment, and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation (ADF) presented a check for $200,000 to go toward the endowment during “Cory Hahn Night” on March 4 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the Sun Devils’ home field.
“Cory’s story is truly inspiring, and we are an excited partner with ASu to create a scholarship in his name,” D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall said during the presentation. “Cory has made valuable contributions to both ASU and the D-backs, and we look forward to helping fund a quality education for future baseball stars in Cory’s honor at one of the top collegiate baseball programs in the country.”
Cory Hahn attended five Perfect Game events in 2008 and 2009 (he was also at a PG showcase in 2005) and was named to the Top Prospect List at three showcases, including the 2009 PG National Showcase in Minneapolis, Minn. He was also at the 2008 PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., with the powerhouse Ohio Warhawks.
On March 25, I was able to sit down with Cory in the patio area just outside the D-backs’ clubhouse and weight-training room at the Salt River Fields spring training complex and engage in an enjoyable conversation that lasted more than a half-hour; we were joined at the table on that amazing early spring morning in the Valley of the Sun by PG Vice President of Business Development Brad Clement. What follows is a mostly unedited transcription of segments of that conversation:
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Perfect Game: Cory, just to start things out, tell us about your gig here with the Diamondbacks. What are your responsibilities and your duties here?
Cory Hahn: “The gig here has been pretty fun; it’s been really exciting. I’m working within our Baseball Operations Department and more specifically within our amateur scouting and pro scouting departments. It’s been awesome to be involved with both of them because you’re learning from so many different angles and you get to be a part of so many different things. You see the growth watching an amateur player and then you watch a professional player and you see the correlation between where they are as amateurs and where they are pros. …
“It’s been great, and I have really, really good mentors in (Assistant Scouting Director) Brendan Domaracki and (Scouting Director) Deric Ladnier, and also (Special Assistant to the SVP of Baseball Operations) Mike Russell and his whole pro scouting staff. To have mentors like that showing you the ropes and teaching you the ways of scouting has been pretty special and pretty fun.”
PG: When the D-backs drafted you and kind of brought you into the family, it is my understanding they were thinking about putting you into a public relations position or something along that line, and you were pretty adamant about being on the baseball op side of things. Were you pretty happy about how everything worked out?
CH: “That was the special thing that Derrick (Hall) presented me with is he kind of said, hey, whatever you think is the most suitable for you we’d like to make that happen for you. It kind of took some time for me to figure out what I really wanted to do, but when you stop playing the game you start to realize how much you love the game and cherish the game and miss the playing activities. When I started to bear down on that I just started to realize that this is where I wanted to be … and I wanted to stay with an organization on the baseball side of things. I had some options and I wanted to be a part of the baseball side of it because I love it, and that’s also where I think I can provide the most impact.”
PG: Despite having played the game a very high level, now, on this side of things, is every day really a learning experience?
CH: “Whether you were once a player and now you’re on the other side of the white lines, it’s exactly the same in the regard that you’re always learning. As a player you were always learning. You were always playing to get better, playing to figure out how to make yourself as good as you possibly can be. It’s the same thing with this side, as well, where you develop but you’re always looking and thinking, ‘How can I get better, how can I find better players and things of that nature. They correlate in different aspects but, yeah, I’m learning constantly and I think it’s going to be something where you’re always going to be learning throughout your time in baseball.
“The reason I’ve come to that conclusion is because I watch the guys who have been in the game for 30 or 40 years now, and they’re still learning. The game changes and you have to adapt to the changes and all kinds of different things, so it will always be a learning process.”
PG: Maybe along those same lines, are you finding that you’re really developing some great relationships with people on all levels of baseball?
CH: Absolutely. Just in our organization alone you have a ton of great baseball people. Obviously you have guys like (Chief Baseball Officer) Tony LaRussa and (Senior Vice President & General Manager) Dave Stewart and those types of guys who have been there (in championship settings), and guys like Derrick Hall who run this organization better than anyone else possibly could. … Now it’s more person-to-person and you build these relationships and it’s amazing the relationships you can build just by going out and watching a game.
“You pop in and watch a game and there might be 20 scouts there, or something like that, and the next thing you know you’re four innings into it and you’ve been chatting with a guy for four innings about baseball – about anything – and you’re growing relationships without even realizing that you’re growing them. The next thing you know you’ve built so many friendships away from the field that are just as important as the ones you built on the field.”
PG: Despite all the challenges you were facing, you took it upon yourself to go back to school and received a degree in economics in 2014. What does that accomplishment mean to you?
CH: “It was just another stepping stone to me (but) it’s an amazing accomplishment that I am extremely proud of. When you get dealt the hand of cards that I was dealt you get a lot people who will tell you the things you can’t do rather than the things you can do; that was very motivating for me. It made me realize that I was tired of people telling me the things I couldn’t do, and the list I had was long. It still is long but it’s something where I’m crossing them off as I go.
“One of the bigger ones was going back to school because I realized that given the situation I was in, life was still going to go on and in order for me to keep up with life I needed to keep going. Part of that was going to school, finishing your degree and getting your education just to have the opportunities you want to have. Not only did I do it for that reason but I also wanted to … come back and be around my friends, I wanted to grow as an individual and just work on becoming more and more independent.
“The schooling aspect of it was much more than just going to get your degree, it was showing that I was capable of doing a lot more and to push myself to every limit. And then it became a goal. I wanted to graduate in four years despite missing a year and that was probably the most rewarding because there were a lot of long nights, a lot of long hours and a lot of dedication that went into it. To be able to achieve that was pretty special, not only for myself but for my family and everybody else who had been there for me.”
PG: The Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment certainly seems like a pretty cool thing that has come together just this spring. Can you tell us how that evolved into reality?
CH: “It’s a pretty special honor. That idea formulated my senior year in college when it was first brought to my attention that (ASU) wanted to something like that. That was when Tim Esmay was the head coach there and he and the Sun Devils Club came up with the idea and wanted to make it happen. Things like this take time and obviously this took some time for it to grow and find its legs. … The last six months is when interest really started to pick up and it really actually started to have a chance to come to fruition, and I was talking to some Diamondbacks’ guys and they said this is going to happen and we’re going to be a contributing factor to it.
“That was the most special part was seeing the Diamondbacks step up and want to join forces with ASU to create this endowment. It’s something that is very special to me because even though it bears my name it’s much more than just me. … It’s a collective effort and the absolute most important part about this is that we’re going to be providing some financial aid to a player so he can realize his dream by playing at Arizona State. That’s the most rewarding part of it is that we’re going to be able to give this to some kid who is going to cherish it, and it’s going to help him get an education and help him play at one of the most prestigious colleges baseball-wise in the country. …
“It’s bringing together the community in this area, and that’s an important part, too. You have the Diamondbacks and you have ASU and both of them are separate entities on their own, but when they come together like that … it’s something that is (contributing) to the legacies of both. For me to be in the center of all that is pretty special.”
PG: It is our understanding that you continue to live on your own in Tempe, but your dad, Dale, continues to keep an apartment nearby in order to help you with your day-to-day living. Could you please talk about the relationship you have with your dad and how important he has been to you?
CH: “The relationship I have with my dad as evolved over the years. Obviously, we’re father and son – he teaches me about life, he teaches me how to be a good man, a gentleman – but we were also always coach and player. We spent so many hours playing baseball, working on baseball, hitting late in the batting cages, working out, all those things – the amount of hours we put in together, just me and him, for baseball was astronomical. Once that part of life ended, our roles changed. He became not only my father but my care-giver. The relationship we’ve built has just been amazing. We were always a baseball player and a baseball coach and now we’re father-son and basically best friends battling this out together.
“It’s been truly amazing and there are so many things I could say about the man. He’s a model of what a perfect man should be with what he does, and he’s my hero by far. I’ve been able to accomplish a lot of things on my own … but there is absolutely no way I’d be anywhere near to where I am today if it wasn’t for him. … It’s just a real special relationship that we have, and it’s something that I will forever be grateful for what he’s done and in debt for what he’s done.
“On top of that, you can’t go on without talking about my mom (Christine Hahn) and my brother (Jason), as well, because it’s been a collective effort. Me and my dad are together but the fact that my mom has been able to hold down the fort back at home and my brother has been able to be supportive when he’s back from college, everything that they’ve done as a whole has been just absolutely incredible. … We’re a special family and I’m very lucky to have them.”
PG: Looking back, you attended six Perfect Game events during your high school years and were named to the Top Prospect List at three PG showcases. At that point in time, for the path that you were on, what were those experiences like?
CH: “I really think that being an athlete has helped me tremendously to get to where I am now in my recovery, just with the motivation and the drive I have to achieve; everything for me is a list of goals and achievements that I want to get to. I was very fortunate to experience a lot of things at different Perfect Game events, different showcases, being able to play for Team USA and represent your country and things of that nature; all of those experiences build you into who you are. That’s what the game of baseball does … it teaches you about life, it teaches you how to be a hard worker, it teaches you have confidence in yourself and trust in your teammates.
“Although I wish I would have had more of those experiences I think I’ve had much more than the normal person has, and all of them helped mold me into who I am today and helped create the type of mindset I have in life. And I have to mention that (those experiences) have opened up doors like being able to get a scholarship for college and build the relationships I have and be in good standing with people to provide opportunities to work in an organization like (the Diamondbacks); the game of baseball has opened up more doors than I ever thought were possible.”
PG: There probably isn’t anyone more qualified to speak about perseverance than yourself with the challenges you’ve faced down. What would you tell these young guys who are maybe just wrapping up their PG and high school careers or starting their college careers about the value of perseverance?
CH: “Through all their experiences, they’re going to come to understand that the game gets harder and life gets harder. When you’re faced with adversity, you’re given something that you’re going to have to battle back from and become stronger with, and it’s going to make you a better baseball player and it’s going to make you a better man. You’re going to learn life lessons the hard way, unfortunately, and that’s just the way it is. We’re all going to deal with adversity in one way, shape or form and it’s how we handle that adversity – we can be knocked down and it’s how we get back up. …
“If you look at the big leagues and you look at the best of the best, the ones who persevere and come out back on top are the ones who are the most successful. There was no easy road for any big-leaguer … and it’s important for (the young players) to understand that it might get tough. But if you keep working hard and keep pushing yourself to the limits you’re going to see yourself be on top of most of the things you’re going to do.”
PG: Where do you see yourself 10 or 15 years down the line? Would you like to maybe hold a more influential front office position some day?
CH: “Yeah, absolutely. I have goals and I have aspirations of seeing myself in a position of power or be in a situation where I’m a deciding factor on certain moves or making a team what it is and having an influence on a team. I think that’s something we all push for. You want to be an important asset toward providing an organization with a championship caliber team and that’s a goal of mine; I want to get to that point. It’s not something that’s just given to you, it’s something that’s earned. It comes through hard work, it’s through dedication and that’s something that I’m, obviously, willing to put in.”