McAngus went extra mile for baseball
But sometimes it's not that simple.
For Helena Brewers third baseman Zach McAngus, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, finding both quality baseball and the exposure that comes with participation in larger tournaments involved a plane ride, not a road trip.
"That's one of the biggest burdens on baseball players from Hawaii," McAngus said, "Flying to the continental United States."
While there is a rich baseball culture in Hawaii, McAngus said that in order to get noticed by colleges and pro scouts alike, players have to go the extra mile, literally, to receive the exposure players in the lower 48 states almost take for granted.
"Kids have to do their own recruiting," McAngus said. "They call colleges, send out tapes. When I was coming up I was calling different schools, sending out letters and trying to play in as many tournaments on the mainland that I could, so I could get some exposure."
And the cost of the trips to the mainland can add up quickly.
McAngus credits his parents' efforts for helping him seize the opportunities to play on the mainland when they arose but said that not every talent in Hawaii is so lucky.
"I grew up with a lot of kids who didn't have the resources that my family had, and they couldn't make those trips," McAngus said. "They would get selected for Area Code Games and couldn't afford the ticket to fly up to the mainland.
"That's hard. It's a lot of exposure."
McAngus persevered, however, and eventually found his way to Washington State University. He would record three seasons with 25-plus RBIs for the Cougars.
Still, McAngus went undrafted in 2006, and he was forced once again to forge his own path to the Minor Leagues.
"It was probably two or three weeks after the draft," McAngus said. "I was looking into playing independent baseball, and I was talking to the U.S. scout for the Brewers. He called me one day and said, 'Yeah, we need a third baseman. Are you interested?' I said, 'Yeah, definitely,' and flew out the next day."
McAngus' impact was immediate. He finished his stint in the Arizona Fall League hitting .260 with 11 doubles and 21 RBIs.
The 23-year old said that the atmosphere that comes with playing professional baseball is part of the reason he has been able to focus so well on his game.
"The biggest difference is, I don't want to call it relaxed, but we're all out here having a good time," McAngus said. "At Washington State everything was so serious. They kept pounding you and pounding you -- get better, get better.
"Well, we're getting better out here, but it's a lot more relaxed and it's obviously a lot easier without school to worry about."
McAngus looked more than relaxed in his first at-bat after being called up to play in Helena this season, in which he hit a two-run home run.
"Hitting a home run is always exciting," he said, "but doing at home in front of a pretty good-sized crowd that came out for Opening Day is a rush."
Helena hitters, including McAngus, have also found comfort in the form of Milwaukee Brewers roving hitting coordinator Mike Lum, who spent 15 seasons in the Major Leagues between the Braves, Reds and Cubs organizations.
Lum was the only player to ever pitch-hit for Hank Aaron and the first native Hawaiian to break into the ranks of professional baseball, a feat that hits close to home with McAngus.
"We've talked about him growing up and how he went about getting signed, how he worked his way up," McAngus said. "Lum is great. He has been around the game for a long time. He knows what he's talking about, and he's a great coach."
After speaking with Lum and acknowledging his personal success in the Minor Leagues thus far, McAngus is optimistic that future generations of Hawaiian baseball players will have easier paths to pro careers.
"It seems like more pro schools and pro scouts are realizing there's good baseball [in Hawaii]. You see more coming over. But it's still pretty tough to get noticed being so far away from the continental United States."
Mark Shugar is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
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