By William Bowman
ELIZABETHTOWN -- A few years after he retired from professional baseball, Brad Hassinger ran into a scout who told him he could have been a big league pitcher had he not been traded away from the Phillies when he was in Class AA.
But the fact that he was dealt -- and who he was dealt for -- is a whole other story in itself.
Hassinger, a 1986 Upper Dauphin and 1990 Elizabethtown College grad, was recently inducted into Elizabethtown's Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame. It was the capper for a tremendous athletic career for the former minor leaguer, who was once traded for a Cy Young winner.
Now a 41-year-old salesman, Hassinger is married with two children -- six-year-old Elise and three-year-old Evan -- living in Elizabethtown with his wife, Heather. Rather than throwing fastballs, he now sells spinal implants for surgeries.
"I get to go into the operating rooms, bringing in all the equipment," said Hassinger. "It's amazing. It's a 3-2, full count every day in the OR."
It is certainly a different direction from where his professional life began.
The Baltimore Orioles tried to sign him out of Upper Dauphin, but Hassinger opted to go to Elizabethtown instead. By the time he graduated college in 1990, he ranked in the top 10 in school history in strikeouts and amassed 21 victories.
He signed with the Phillies as a free agent after his senior season, going 7-4 with a 2.18 ERA in 1990 in a short season with the Princeton Patriots of the Appalachian League. In 1991, he was 8-8 with the Spartanburg Phillies in the South Atlantic League.
His best season came in 1992, when he went 10-2 between Spartanburg and Clearwater, with a 2.03 ERA in 32 games. After starting 34 games in his first two seasons, Hassinger started to come out of the bullpen in 1992, starting just 12 times in his 34 appearances.
In April of his fourth professional season, with Hassinger inching closer to home -- he was then pitching for the Class AA Reading Phillies -- he was dealt to the Atlanta Braves. It was a one-for-one deal, with Hassinger going to the Braves for 1989 Cy Young winner Mark Davis.
"Not too many people can say they were traded straight-up for a guy who won the Cy Young," said Hassinger. "I did real well with the Braves, got to AA, but it was a bad time to be a pitcher in their system."
Hassinger was dealt to the Braves just when they started their run of 14 consecutive trips to the postseason. Not only that, the backbone of the Braves' roster was a stellar group of pitchers that including Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Steve Avery, who would go on to win a combined six Cy Young awards.
"The Braves were just starting their dynasty, but for a pitcher, there was a big road block," said Hassinger.
Even with his life changed by the deal, Hassinger managed to go 7-2 with three different teams in 1993. He had a 2.10 ERA in 14 appearances. Hassinger's final season in pro baseball came in 1994. He was in Class AA Greenville, making a career-high 42 appearances.
At the age of 27, he walked away.
His career record was 35-24, with a stellar 2.65 earned run average in 135 appearances. Now, nearly 15 years after hanging up his spikes, Hassinger said he has not one regret.
"The minors are a tough life, but a great life," he said. "I've done something that a lot of people will not do. I got to play winter ball in Hawaii, play in the minors for a few years. It was an awesome experience."
Hassinger's latest great experience came when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month. His parents, Nada and Dick Hassinger, Brad's biggest fans, were on hand for the induction, as was his brother Kerry.
In addition, a lot of Hassinger's former college teammates returned to their alma mater for the ceremony.
"It was unbelievably great," he said. "Twelve of my teammates were there, guys from California and New Jersey. I haven't seen some of them for 20 years.
"It was a special night, especially for my parents. My mom and dad never missed a game and the older I got, I realized how important it was. They are a major part of what I accomplished."
