Brad Hawpe admits it's been a long time since he's been home at this time of year. But when you play at LSU, then for the Rockies, Rays and most recently for the Padres, that's how it is in baseball. However, after having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last August, the Fort Worth native finds himself close to home, with Double-A Frisco, as he looks to get his arm back to full strength.
"It's been great, being close to the house, good coaching staff, good group of players here. A good opportunity for me to finish strengthening my arm," he said of his time with the Roughriders so far. "Getting close to eight months removed from surgery, feel arm strength building up every day. This is a good place for me to get at bats while I'm doing it."
The 32-year-old first baseman/outfielder played 62 games with San Diego last summer, batting .231 with 4 HR and 19 RBI, but by the time he was placed on the disabled list on June 19 with a torn ulnar nerve in his left elbow that ended his season earlier than expected.
Hawpe signed a minor league contract with the Rangers earlier this year, a deal which included an invite to spring training, but it was clear his arm was far from ready. However, he admits it's getting there.
"Yeah, getting close, just got to take it day-by-day right now and keep building up arm strength. I got out there the other day and it was a little bit sore the next day, but bounced back. This [Monday] is three days removed from the last one," he said. "So, I'll get out there a couple days a week first week try to pump it up to a couple days here in a week or so and I'll be close to about ready."
Through eight games, he was hitting .261 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in the Texas League, a circuit he's no stranger to, having played 93 games for Tulsa in 2003 when he was in the Rockies' organization. But now that the FW Boswell H.S. product is so close to home, he admits this experience is a bit different.
"Yeah, that's probably the only way I was going to do this. I was going to stay at home one way or another, this was the best way to look at it," he said.
Not since his high school days has he been able to say he's played at home, which is a pretty cool thing to experience again. "Never, I played for Tulsa in Double-A in 2003 I think," he said. "Other than that, I haven't been home this time of year since late 90s, '97 or '98."
At 32, he's the oldest member of the Frisco roster and considering he has over seven years of big-league experience, that's a big asset for a pretty young team that is being fielded by third-year Roughriders skipper Steve Buechele.
"Obviously, the experience [is big]. He's been here. He's done that and he's been great with the kids. First of all, him willing to come and try to get his game back, get his arm healthy and do it in Double-A says a lot about him. He just wants to play," Buechele said. "It is home for him but he's been great for the guys. He's on the bench pulling for everybody like everybody else and I think he's enjoying his time here trying to get back to the big leagues."
However, Hawpe has adopted more of a lead by example approach with his new teammates instead of taking a more direct approach.
"These kids are playing hard. They're going about their business the right way. There's not a whole lot that needs to be said if they're playing hard and trying to learn the best they can do. Their career lies in their hands, so they're going to go out there and do what they have to do to make it to the next level," he said.
One of those kids he speaks of is Frisco third sacker Mike Olt, the No. 4 prospect in the Ranger organization. Olt is just one Roughrider who is making the most out of the unique opportunity to play alongside someone with such a solid major-league resume.
"He's been in the major leagues, he's been an All-Star and to get the opportunity to talk to him about how he approaches certain pitchers is something that I'm lucky to get a chance to talk to him about," Olt said. "I think it helps me to just get an understanding of what I need to look for in pitchers and what I can work on."
It's been around eight months since Hawpe went under the knife and considering that the normal timetable for a full recovery from Tommy John starts at a year, he feels pretty fortunate to be where he's currently at in his recovery.
"Everybody says 12 to 18 months and I'm at eight, so I think I'm doing pretty good," he said.
