Hatley left impact on Legion

BY ED DUPREE
SALISBURY POST

Hatley is one of the few players who has started four straight years in a Legion program that has had its share of stars.

During the 2000 season, Hatley was usually Rowan’s third baseman when he wasn’t pitching, but he started some at first base late in the season, filled in at second a few times and served as designated hitter six times when his right arm was sore from pitching the previous night.

“He’s probably our most valuable player as far as all-around: batting, hitting, running, fielding, pitching,” said coach Jim DeHart, whose retirement after 11 seasons parallels Hatley’s aging out of the program.

“He’s like another coach out there on the field for us. I don’t have to tell him a thing about coming in for bunts or things like that. He just automatically does it. I very seldom ever have to tell him what kind of hitter’s hitting. He anchors that infield. He does so much for the Legion.He plays a position plus pitching. He’s so versatile,” DeHart added.

Hatley, a tough 5-foot-11, 180-pound 18-year-old, wound up his career as Rowan’s all-time career leader in hits with 214 and at-bats with 635. He ranks second in runs (177), third in doubles (38) and stolen bases (65) and fifth in runs batted in (131). He had .337 career batting average, which included .373 this season and .358 in 1998.

“He’s a very clutch hitter. That’s the reason he’s batting No. 3. He comes through most of the time,” said DeHart.

His numbers weren’t quite as impressive as a pitcher, but he was dominant in finals his final season, going 8-0 until losing to Cherryville in the state tournament last week at Granite Falls. He was 21-7 with four saves and a 3.65 earned run average in 41 games over four seasons. He struck out 247 batters in 224 2/3 innings and walked only 58.

Hatley, who played three years of high school ball at West Rowan and his final season at East Rowan, is amazed that he’s a Legion career record-holder.

“I just thought about trying to play. I never thought about breaking records. I never knew what records were kept. I never even dreamed about having anything close to this,” he said.

“All I wanted was just to go out and play ball.I’ve been able to do that luckily for four years. I really haven’t been hurt a whole lot. We’ve won a bunch of games, and that’s probably the reason I’ve gotten on the leaderboard. We’ve got to play so much,” he said.

Hatley played in 163 of his team’s 175 games in four seasons, losing some games when his West team was in the state playoffs in 1997 and others because of minor injuries or illness.

Rowan’s record during his four years was 132-42-1. Hatley’s teams finished first three times in the regular season, won Southern Division of Area III titles the first three years, and won the Area III crown twice. State champion Cherryville eliminated Rowan in the 1998 Western North Carolina finals, and Caldwell County beat Rowan in the state finals last week.

Hatley, after going 11-for-26 (.423 average) with two homers and 11 RBIs in the state tournament, shared the Most Valuable Player award with Caldwell’s Marc Church, who pitched his team over Rowan in the finals.

Hatley was a high school shortstop, but started his Legion career at second base, because an older and more experienced MichaelLowman was the shortstop. Hatley also played second in 1998.

He might have played shortstop all of 1999, but Cal Hayes Jr. arrived on the scene.

“I knew Cal was real good. He (DeHart) started me off at shortstop(first 13 games). The team needed me to move over to third base that year. I’ve been playing there just about ever since until this year, whenever I had to move to first because of my arm(sore from pitching),” Hatley explained.

“It’s been fun playing all positions. You can learn a lot about all the positions,” he said.

Hatley’s favorite position?

“First base and DH: Those are the easiest,” he quipped with a big laugh.

Then he admitted third base was his favorite.

“With the pitching we’ve got, they give up a lot of ground balls. I like third base. You get some hard balls hit down there, plus you get a bunch of soft ones. That’s a position where you’ve got to be able to catch both. You get a whole lot more action down there. It’s hard action, too. You’re right on top of things, so I probably like third the best,” he said.

DeHart likes Hatley at third base.

“His fielding has always been there. Of course, he was a shortstop. We moved him to third base when Cal came. That’s the best move we’ve ever made. He’s a natural third baseman; he really is. He fields the ball well. He isn’t scared of the ball, never backs up,” said the Rowan coach.

Hatley not only plays tough, but enjoys the game. He laughs with his teammates while on the field or in the dugout, jokes with opposing players or umpires and has fun with the fans.

“It’s always about fun,” said Hatley. “We couldn’t come out here and play day-to-day if we weren’t out there having fun. That’s what he (DeHart) has always told the guys from day one, ever since I was a freshman: ‘Go out here, play and have fun.’ Once you stop having fun, you can’t play. It’s so hard to play day-to-day when you’re not having fun. You go out there worried about too much stuff instead of just going about and playing ball,” said Hatley.

DeHart won’t be around next season, except as a fan, but he knows the loss of Hatley will be a big one.

“He means a lot to this team. They are going to miss him. They are going to have to have somebody to replace him next year,” said DeHart.

A replacement may be coming, but not next year. Hatley’s 12-year-old brother, Brett, was a star pitcher-shortstop on the Rowan Little League All-Stars that finished second in the state a week ago.

Reports are that the left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower has playing ability and mannerisms just like his older brother’s. He even used Brian’s old Little League bat.

So, be patient, Rowan fans. The Hatley era isn’t quite over.