Northwestern has a proud reputation of preparing students for their careers by fostering academic knowledge in many fields. For Joe Girardi and J.A. Happ, the field at Northwestern where they excelled the most was the baseball field.
Joe Girardi isn’t new to Major League Baseball. As a catcher for the New York Yankees in the 1990s, he won three World Series rings. After retiring from baseball in 2004, Girardi turned to managing and was hired by the Florida Marlins in 2006. After a season in which he was named National League Manager of the Year, Girardi spent a year working for FOX before being hired as the Yankees’ manager in 2007. Girardi played for the Wildcats from 1983 to 1986 and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at catcher, hitting .351 for his career.
Likewise, J.A. Happ was also named All-Big Ten during his three years at the school from 2002-2004, striking out 251 batters while having an earned run average of 2.88. Happ was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 2004 draft. After an impressive start to the 2008 season at the Triple-A level, Happ was called up to the Phillies and pitched out of the bullpen. Early in the 2009 season, the Phillies inserted Happ into the starting rotation, an opportunity he has taken full advantage of.
Happ ranks in the top five in ERA among National League pitchers and leads all NL rookie pitchers in wins. If not for the midseason acquisition of the 2008 Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, Happ could be the ace of the NL East champion Phillies.
This season, Girardi and Happ hope to lead their respective teams deep into the playoffs and give the World Series a Northwestern feel. They aren’t the only Northwestern alums making a splash in professional baseball, however. Chris “Disco” Hayes, a 2005 graduate, dominated his opponents while pitching for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and finished the 2009 season with the Omaha Royals, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Yet based on his Northwestern experience, it’s hard to believe that he is one step away from the major leagues.
“I didn’t play a lot my first three years while playing second base and shortstop,” Hayes said. “Then senior year, we needed bullpen help and I switched to a sidearm pitcher.”
Hayes said he “tried [throwing sidearm] once in a while in high school,” and it came easily because his arm slot was naturally lower from being a middle infielder. He started calling himself “Disco” as a joke in college because he only threw in the 70s; the nickname caught on with his teammates.
In his senior year, Hayes recorded nine saves for the Wildcats and had the lowest ERA of any pitcher on the team. However, he went undrafted out of college and began to wonder where his career was going.
“[Playing professional baseball] was something I always wanted to do as a goal,” Hayes said. “But I didn’t know how to get there.”
His love for baseball took him to the independent leagues, where he played for the Windy City Thunderbolts in 2005. From there he was invited to a tryout in Arizona, signing with the Kansas City Royals in March 2006.
Just three years later, Hayes’s great 2009 campaign has put him on the brink of the major leagues. He started his season at the Double-A level for Northwest Arkansas, where he posted a miniscule 0.98 ERA in 18 games before being called up to the Triple-A team, the Omaha Royals.
Playing at Triple-A isn’t enough for Chris Hayes, however, who said, “You never play in the minors to play in the minors.”
The Omaha Royals’ season recently came to an end, which means “Disco” can start preparing for next year in the hopes of joining Happ as the latest ‘Cat to star in the big leagues. As for Joe Girardi and J.A. Happ, they hope their seasons don’t end any time soon. If they keep performing like they have been, there may be two Northwestern graduates facing each other come late October.