Draft not end of Cory Hahn's story with Diamondbacks

Bob Young | USA TODAY Sports

When the Arizona Diamondbacks contacted Arizona State's Cory Hahn late in the Major League Baseball draft to tell him they planned to select him with their pick in the 34th round, it wasn't just intended to be a nice gesture or a neat little tie-in to the No. 34 jersey he wore for the Sun Devils.

It was a classy move but more than honorary. And that's the best thing about it.

Though Hahn, who became paralyzed in a game two years ago, never will realize his dream of playing professional baseball, the Diamondbacks intend to make sure he still has future in the game if he wants it.

And he does.

"I was sitting on an airplane getting ready to go back to California when they called," Hahn said Tuesday after spending a day with a crew from ABC's "Good Morning America."

"I had this instant smile on my face, and I had to try to keep quiet," he said. "I didn't want to make a big scene on the plane.

"It was really emotional for me and my family, and obviously I'm humbled by it and forever grateful and it's something that I will cherish for the rest of my life because it was something they didn't have to do."

But again, it won't stop with the phone call. Hahn hopes to be back in the Valley next week to meet other players in the draft class and with the Diamondbacks.

At some point they'll iron out the details of his future with the club.

"Even in the 34th round, there is a lot of talent there," Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. "But we thought it was the appropriate time to draft Cory, and we wanted to do it. We called him a couple of rounds before to make sure the he was OK with being selected, and he was thrilled.

"But I didn't want to draft him and let that be the end of it. I talked to him (Monday) and told him, 'Let's find something for you to do with us during your last year in school, and when you're finished, we'll have a job for you in baseball operations or scouting.'

"He's got such a good baseball mind, and he's such a motivational baseball story. It just makes sense."

If only everything in life did.

There is no making sense of that day in 2011 when Hahn, who almost never had slid head-first during his days in youth baseball or at Santa Ana Mater Dei (where he was California's Mr. Baseball as a senior), did exactly that.

His head banged into the leg of New Mexico second baseman Kyle Stiner, and Hahn couldn't get up.

His highly anticipated college career was over before it had really begun. He was left paralyzed from the chest down.

But with his family's help and support, Hahn continued with his education at ASU and on Saturday — not long after the Diamondbacks had drafted him — he was honored by the Academic Advisors for Athletics, who presented him with the Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete Achievement Award.

Hall had an inkling that Hahn would get through the ordeal when he, with former Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez, visited Hahn in the hospital shortly after the injury.

"That visit meant a lot," Hahn said. "We talked about baseball and a bunch of stuff, and I got to take my mind off of the injury and what was happening for a while."

It meant something to Hall, too.

"As soon as I met him I knew he was special," Hall said. "He's such a great kid, and as an organization we took an interest in him and even talked about this (draft) a year ago. Our scouting director (Ray Montgomery) came to me with the idea.

"If Cory wants to be a scout, we'll put him through the scouting school, and we'll figure out how to work out the transportation issues. If he wants to work in baseball operations he can do that.

"It was his dream to play for a major-league team, so I told him, 'Let's turn the page and find another role for you in baseball.' He seems really happy, and that's the most important thing."

Hahn said he has gotten stronger, and the functions he retains have improved.

"It's an everyday grind, but I'm a little more independent," he said. "I'm driving now and doing things I couldn't do before to get around by myself. My long-term goal is to be fully independent and one day maybe to be walking."

Hahn, who is closing in on a degree from ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business, has been working as a student assistant for coach Tim Esmay at ASU, and Esmay said they have spoken often about a future in baseball.

Hahn told him, ironically, that he was not ready to walk away from the game that he loves.

"His baseball mind is incredible," Esmay said. "There's always just been something about him, and he's got this ability to always be positive. He showed early he has an ability to absorb the game and make adjustments quickly.

"That's the reason he was starting as a freshman. All the guys who come here have talent, and then it's a matter of how quick they can slow the game down. He made that adjustment very quickly. …

"He's a true example of a baseball rat. That was such a classy deal by the Diamondbacks. It gave me goose bumps, to be honest, and it caused us to share some tears. Cory was taken aback by it. He's a humble person, but a self-confident person, and what the Diamondbacks are offering is an amazing opportunity. Whatever they have him do, I know he'll be great at it.

"He's going to press forward."

Bob Young writes for The Arizona Republic, a Gannett property.