Feb. 24, 2011
"Thanks for coming today. Obviously, the events on Sunday, it was a very tough day for not only Cory Hahn and his family but also for his baseball family, which is us. The family is in a healing process, I'm happy to say, and happy to say that Cory is in a healing process right now and as with anything, our team is in a healing process. I think what has been awesome is in the last couple of days our guys have been able to go see Cory and be able to talk to him. I too, have had the opportunity to go see him and talk to him on many occasions through the situation since Sunday and nothing but hope, nothing but positive prayers that we have been receiving has just been incredible...incredible. The Sun Devil nation that has stepped up for this thing...the fans...the former Sun Devils and trust me, his family is hearing these things, and Cory is hearing these things and it's a big boost to him and the situation. I am very excited about that and proud, very proud of the Sun Devil administration and Arizona State...everybody, how they have handled themselves in uncharted waters. Just to see the response, how everyone has come to the help factor, the human factor in this whole thing has just been incredible and just a true testament to our University, and a true testament on what people do, and they come to help.
I will say this, what we are looking to do as a team is getting some bracelets made up for our games. It's going to have a great little saying that reflects Cory, and what you would be inside a clubhouse, and who Cory is. The kids are also going to put Cory's number on their hats, and the other thing we decided as a team is we have these new stirrups this year and we have the "A-S" on the calves. We are going to go ahead and put the number 34 below that "A-S". It's just little ways for the healing process to continue and as we are handling this thing as a group, as anything else that's just part of the equation, and Cory is obviously very involved in what we are doing right now and having great conversations with his teammates and that's been great. As a team, as anything else, we talk about this all the time in our program...it's life lessons...but you can never get the pitch back...you can never get the situation, the at bat, the ground ball, the pitch, you can never get that back. But what you can do is keep looking forward, looking at the next pitch, the next at bat. You talk about this, and that's your preparation to play a game, but its also your preparation for life, and what a great test for us to continue that.
I don't think I have been more proud of a group of young men in a situation than what happened on Sunday. You are talking about a situation that nobody has been involved with in their baseball careers, yet they have this happen in the first inning of a ballgame. To see your fallen teammate, a guy that your in the trenches with. A special part of ASU baseball and why its such a great experience for kids is it's just not the act of winning baseball, but it's what it provides for you, and it provides a lifelong lesson, a life long family type atmosphere, and if you have been through this thing, you know what I am talking about. To see that happen in front of you, and have him carted off in front of you, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of tears in the dugout. The true sense on why I know this team will be fine, on why this team will continue, to do what this team came here to do, is the way they responded there. They just went right out and played a baseball game that I am sure, deep down, didn't mean a whole lot. Didn't mean as much as it did, and hour beforehand. But they sure as heck continued to play the game they way they wanted to, played it with emotion, they played it with passion, and move forward toward the hospital and see Cory. I think that's the biggest thing we have going for us right now, we are going to move forward, we are going to play Delaware this weekend, and there are baseball games, and this is a weekend of baseball games and I will tell you that media questions will be geared toward Delaware, and our team, out of respect for our family, respect for our healing process is we are going to move forward, and talk about Delaware, preparing ourselves to play Delaware, and that's how we are going to move forward in this thing."
On Delaware: "I'll tell you what, four game set against Delaware, they are going to be a team that is going to be a great challenge, because they are going to play baseball. They are going to make you hold runners, make you play for one run. It's a great situation for us in the sense with the new bats, its forcing people to play a bit better team baseball, and this is going to be a weekend they challenge us, and ask us to handle some pressure, that will be a great challenge for us to answer that."
On Veterans on this team: "The ability to handle adversity, and the ability being comfortable in uncomfortable situations is exactly what these kids have done their whole careers here. To me, it's a slider in the dirt and we are still going to be hunting fastballs. You are going to take some sliders, you are gonna get `em, there is no doubt that you are going to get some sliders and you are going to get them in the dirt, its just a question on if you are going to keep swinging at them, or just keep looking fastball, and that's the mantra these guys are going to go with. These guys love to play baseball; we had a great practice yesterday. We had a day off on Monday, but they loved those three and a half hours they were out there yesterday. They loved it because it reminded them on why they came here. They came here to have a great experience and to play baseball and I was really impressed and really proud on how they came out and continue the process of playing winning baseball."
On how Coach is coping: "Well, it's not in coaching manual 101. It doesn't say this is what happens. I am sure it's been tough on the media because there hasn't been much coming from us. I will be honest with you. It wasn't because we didn't want to share and let you know, it was a situation where we weren't ready, none of us were ready. We were ready to just be there, as much as we can for Cory, and as much as we can for ourselves, and like I said the healing process and handling this and dealing with this as our family member. That is the truest statement I can tell you. You are never prepared, but you have to make a decision, and it hasn't been easy. It hasn't been an easy couple of day but my gosh, what we have is hope. We have hope. I continue to hold that hope and I think we all hold that hope that good things happen.
On moving forward: "I think that's the greatest thing we have, is playing baseball. But listen, its not a normal week. Who are we kidding? It's not. It's a sense of how normal can we get. I am not asking to be normal from nine am to one pm. I am not asking for it to be normal from six pm to 11 because there are thing on these young men's minds, on all our minds. But from 1:30-6, the ability to walk on that baseball field, something you have always done, is a cleansing, healing process. You have the family out together, and we are all doing something that we love, and I think that's the ability on keep moving forward"
On the type of player Cory is: "Helluva player. And he is a heckuva young man. One of the best talents that I have seen. To start as a freshman, if you follow ASU baseball, you would know to be a freshman starter on a Friday night, he is a pretty good player. To be that you have to be more than a player, you have to have the edge, you got the attitude, and he defiantly is that kid."