Paralyzed ASU baseball player Cory Hahn moves forward
By Ron Galosic for The Arizona Republic
On Feb. 20, 2011, Cory Hahn slid into second base, injuring his neck.
During the third game of his collegiate career on Feb. 20, 2011, Hahn was attempting to steal second base, sliding head-first into the knee of New Mexico’s second basemen.
Hahn was paralyzed from the mid-chest down after he suffered a C-5 fracture in his spinal cord. He hasn’t played an inning since.
Hahn says he has “always loved the game of baseball, and it was something I always wanted to do.” In an instant, the game he loved was taken away from him.
“Not only just baseball, (but) basically to have my normal life taken away from me, having to relearn how to do everything again and adjust to a whole different lifestyle that I was obviously not accustom to; it was tough, mentally and physically,” he says.
To say that Hahn was a good baseball player would be an understatement. Hahn was one of the highest recruited prospects coming out of high school.
He had won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. 18-and-under national team and helped throw a combined perfect game in the 2010 CIF State Championship. Following his terrific senior year as a pitcher and centerfielder, the San Diego Padres selected Hahn in the 26th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
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He did not sign with the Padres and honored his commitment to Arizona State and the Sun Devil baseball team.
After tragedy, moving forward
In the wake of his injury, Hahn went through countless hours of rehab in hopes of some day being able to play and walk again. After one year, Hahn returned to Arizona State and his team, this time taking on a different role. Head coach Tim Esmay offered Hahn to become a student coach for the Sun Devils.
“It was an exciting moment. (The fact that) Coach Esmay reached out and still wanted me to be an official part of the team was awesome,” Hahn says. “Being a part of the team was a big thing for me.”
On top of the demands of being a student coach and completing countless hours of physical therapy, Hahn would later return to Arizona State to continue his coursework at the W.P. Carey School of Business.
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Most college students complain about the strenuous workload of 15 credit hours and maybe juggling a part-time job. Hahn had to take semesters with more than 20 credit hours as he got back on track to graduate in the spring of 2014. Hahn acknowledged the Arizona State community for helping him throughout his journey.
“I was there to be a part of the ASU tradition and (when) I got hurt, they rallied behind me," he says. "I was able to build relationships with my teammates, my coaches, the athletic department and the school itself.”
When things get tough, Hahn says he's thankful to have those people around to help.
“I’ll have my bad days just like everybody else,” he says. “But to know that I have so many people in my corner, it’s a lot easier to get up, work really hard and to achieve the goals I have of full independence and walking one day.”
Last year, the Arizona State baseball team had a “Pass the Bucket” fundraiser to raise awareness for Hahn and his family. This past January his alma mater, Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., hosted the second annual Trinity Bat Co. Home Run Challenge, which raises money for the Cory Hahn Fund.
There is no doubt that Hahn's biggest supporter has been his father.
Dale Hahn retired from his job and moved down to Tempe, Ariz., to be his son's caregiver and help him adapt to a new, foreign lifestyle. It would be no easy task.
“My dad is out here at ASU helping me out with everything,” Hahn says. “Without him, I don’t think I would be doing anything, honestly.”
The number 34
It was no coincidence that the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Hahn in the 34th round. Hahn donned the number 34 while he was on the diamond for the Sun Devils. Many other organizations had the idea of drafting Hahn in that round as well.
“It was a very humbling feeling, to say the least. It was a really cool feeling that organizations were thinking about me out there and they were still considering me a baseball player,” he says.
Hahn did not know at the time that he would be drafted on June 8 but his head coach gave him the hint that his name could be called.
“As far as the Diamondbacks' decision, I think they wanted to do it only if it worked out for them,” Hahn says. “And when it came down to that point, they realized that they wanted to make that happen. It was a really special moment.”
As of now, the Diamondbacks and Hahn have not worked out the specific details of his contract, but they are giving him the time to finish his degree. He believes that his role with the organization will be in the front office.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, in the grand scheme of things, is that I could sit around and do nothing all day or I could get out, live my life the best I can and enjoy my life,” Hahn says. “Either way, life is going to go on. Life isn’t going to stop for me, or anyone for that matter. It made it really simple. ... I’m going to work really hard at rehab, at school or whatever I put my mind to.”
Some stories in sports go beyond the box score. The day of the accident, the box score credited Hahn with the steal. Later, Coach Esmay told Hahn that he was safe on the play at second base. Hahn replied simply, “Damn right, I was safe.”
Ryan Hill is a summer intern at Paste BN College. He is also currently enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, and he is set to graduate in 2015.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.