Adam Haseley Interview Excerpts

Adam Haseley, image- Jay Floyd

I recently chatted with Phillies first round draft pick Adam Haseley about his successful first pro campaign that wrapped up this week with the Lakewood BlueClaws.  That session resulted in a feature (link here) about Adam collecting souvenirs through his playing career for his father.

Many more topics were touched on during our talk, including his promotion to Class A Lakewood, playing along side another top Phillies draft pick Mickey Moniak, which players Haseley looked up to as a youth and plenty more. 

Read ahead for all the spare quotes from the 21-year-old Virginia product.

-Did you find it tough to adjust here late in the season to a new team or to the higher level?

I think both of it is a little difficult at first.  Being on a new team and then being around new guys and then being at a whole new level.  But the guys were great at welcoming me in.  I knew a couple of them from Williamsport.  I think it's just a combination of both.  The first couple of days are the hardest trying to fit it and then going to play in a game too.  

-When the Phils drafted you, did they come as a surprise or were they on your radar as a possible destination?

It wasn't a surprise.  They were one of the teams I had met with in person in the spring.  The night, going into it, you don't really know who it's going to be for anyone, so it's a little bit of a surprise from that standpoint, but I knew they were one of the teams that were interested.

-After joining the BlueClaws for the last couple weeks of the season, you were playing beside last year's first round draft pick Mickey Moniak.  That seemed to excite a lot of people.  Was it just as exciting for you and Mickey?

It's been cool.  I remember watching him on TV a couple years ago on draft night, obviously, I just was always dreaming that maybe that could be my name coming up on that first night, so it was cool when I figured out that I was coming here and I knew that I would be with him and get a chance to play along side of him.

-What were you impressions of the Phillies prior to being employed by them?

From Florida it's not like I was a die hard fan of anyone from the north, but I do remember those years in '08 through '10 with their runs in the postseason.  I just remember watching them and the guys on the team, (Chase) Utley and those guys, um, just kind of being in (awe) of the fan base that they have in Philly.  It's kind of funny that some of the guys from Virginia are from Philadelphia too, so it's kind of fun to hear their stories and they're die hard fans too.

 

-Are there players that stand out in your memory as players you looked up to or wanted to emulate while you were growing up?

I remember watching guys in high school that were older than me.  When I was a freshman, I remember watching a guy name Jesse Winker who I think just got called up this year with the Reds.  I think from a young age I had memories of seeing guys that were a lot older than me get drafted and just starting this process.  Yeah, just the older guys and I was always a fan of Jacoby Elsbury.  He was from the west coast and everything, but I enjoyed watching him when he was with the Red Sox and I was a young kid in high school and I was trying to be like him and act like him.

 

-Do you see parts of his game in your game?

I like to say that I do (see some of his game in mine).  We're kinda the guys that have more speed than anything, that can play the outfield and just gotta impact from that side of the game than anything else.

-You spoke about looking up to other players.  Now that you're a guy that kids may look up to, what advice might you share with young players hoping to reach this level?

Honestly, it kind of sounds cliche, but just working hard and you have to decide for yourself what you want your future to be and if you give everything you have for one thing, then you're going to wind up in a good position as time goes along so, that's the thing I was working on at college; it was just working as hard as I can and then hoping that junior year would come and that I would have a good year and then I would have a chance to be drafted.