Two weeks ago the Arizona Diamondbacks made my favorite pick of the entire MLB First-Year Player Draft when they selected Cory Hahn, a paralyzed former baseball star at Arizona State University and Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.
It was an awesome gesture that allowed a young man who's talent made him a prospect out a high school, the opportunity to experience and live out a dream. To me, that's what sports are all about at their core, and at that point I didn't think the story could get any better than Arizona selecting Hahn in the 34th round, which is the number he always wore proudly on his uniform.
But I was wrong. It did get better, because the D-Backs not only brought Hahn to Chase Field on Friday for an introduction, they gave him the same type of introduction you usually see reserved for those taken in the earlier rounds. That included a joint press conference with team president Derrick Hall, which you can view below thanks to the awesome folks over at AZ Snake Pit.
They went that far with it, because they very clearly feel like Hahn belongs in the Diamondbacks organization in some capacity. In fact, Hall went as far as to reiterate these same comments he made right after the draft concluded.
Said Derrick Hall at the time of the draft, "It was a very emotional selection for us to make. When Ray Montgomery and his staff came up with the idea and presented it to me, it was a no-brainer. It's not about us. It's really about Cory and his family. I was able to spend time with them right after the injury in his hospital room and he's a wonderful kid. We want to make this permanent. We don't want this to just be about the selection and him being a draft pick, but about him working in full-time employment with the Diamondbacks and hopefully we'll make that come to fruition for he and his family here soon."
So the story has a chance to get even better yet.
For now, though, Hahn is focused on completing his business degree at ASU, but it has to be an awesome feeling to know that a full-time gig in the D-Backs organization is all his should he choose to pursue that path.
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