Chip Hale and his staff have an elaborate pitch for high school prospects who are debating whether to sign with MLB organizations or come to Arizona. It includes a video presentation and data Hale described as “compelling.”
But nothing they could devise can top what a soon-to-be-former Wildcat said after the season ended earlier this week.
“The second-best decision I ever made was coming to Arizona. The best one was staying here,” MLB draft-bound catcher Daniel Susac said. “I don’t think the program could be in better hands. The coaching staff and the players all understand it. They get it.”
Susac had a decision to make between his freshman and sophomore years. Jay Johnson left for LSU, and Arizona hired Hale. Susac could have entered the NCAA transfer portal and played elsewhere this season. He elected to remain in Tucson, and he continued to thrive, producing a second consecutive All-America campaign.
Hale could use Susac’s words or his continued development to try to sell players on the virtues of college baseball and the education that comes along with it. Regardless of how many buy in, significant change is coming to the UA program.
Arizona stands to lose at least a handful of its most productive players, including Susac. That’s not unusual. What is: The Wildcats are on track to bring in a massive class of 20-plus freshmen and transfers.
The main thrust behind that is to make up for the losses suffered during the coaching transition. Several signees from the class of 2021 ended up at other schools or in pro ball; meanwhile, a handful of players and prospects followed Johnson to Baton Rouge.
“We had a number of guys that didn’t show up,” Hale said. “And a lot of those guys that didn’t show up that were supposed to were pitchers. That’s why this class is so big. There’s gonna be a ton of competition coming next fall.”
Arizona likely will lose players to the NCAA transfer portal — it’s the norm everywhere now — but will offset that by adding from the portal. What positions might the Wildcats target?
“Pitching, pitching, pitching,” Hale said.
The need for viable, veteran arms was one of the biggest lessons Hale learned during his first season as UA coach. The Wildcats ran out of them during the NCAA Tournament. They won a pair of games in the Coral Gables Regional before being eliminated by Ole Miss by a score of 22-6.
“We felt like we had depth,” Hale said. “And then some injuries happened and youth happened. It’s hard to win with freshman pitchers. They learned a lot this year. But the development piece of it has to go along with winning.”
The other key lesson Hale learned is that every game matters in the relatively compressed college baseball season. Unlike, say, the big leagues, where Hale coached for the better part of two decades, a week-long slump can have severe consequences.
“It’s not like pro ball,” Hale said. “Even in the big leagues you can ... have a bad week, and you can recover no problem. There’s just such a limited amount of games here.
“It’s just the importance of ... having the guys so locked in every day.”
Hale was speaking from his office at Hi Corbett Field. The sun-splashed playing surface shimmered behind him. He couldn’t help but wonder how the postseason might have gone had the Wildcats earned the right to host a regional instead of having to fly across the country and endure multiple weather delays in South Florida.
When they won the College World Series in 2012, the Wildcats hosted until they made it to Omaha. Likewise for the 2021 squad that advanced to the CWS.
“There are obviously advantages for us to play here,” Hale said. “There’s a ton of them.”
Arizona fell well short of its ultimate goal this season. Even after losing several key players to the MLB draft and the transfer portal, the Wildcats had visions of a return trip to Omaha. They started hot, rising to as high as No. 10 in Baseball America’s Top 25.
But after a sweep at Washington April 1-3 that boosted its record to 21-7, Arizona was a .500 team (18-18). The Wildcats lost series to Washington State, Utah and USC — the three teams that didn’t qualify for the Pac-12 Tournament.
Even in the immediate aftermath of the season finale, Hale was able to reflect on his first season with the perspective of a man who’s spent his life playing and coaching baseball. He never viewed this job as a layover. It’s always been a destination. Hale, 57, is just getting started.
Chip Hale says he experienced “joy” in his first season as the Wildcats’ coach following decades in the minor and major leagues. “It’s such a wonderful place to work, and it’s a breath of fresh air for me every day I enter Hi Corbett Field,” he said.
“The joy that this season gave me, to be back at my university that I’m so proud of, to fill a position that Jerry Kindall filled and I hold in the highest regard, it’s very special,” Hale said after the Ole Miss game. “And it’s special because of the people. The program is about the people — the people who are texting me right now, all the alumni and all these people that are so important to me and so important to our university. It’s such a wonderful place to work, and it’s a breath of fresh air for me every day I enter Hi Corbett Field.
“So I’m very happy about it. We’re not happy we’re not in Omaha. We want to win. But it’s also about these guys and developing them as men and people who are going to be productive people in our society. And we have a lot of them, whether they’re Major League Baseball players or lawyers or doctors or engineers. So I’m very proud of them.”
