Hale back in the swing of things
SVHS junior took a time-out from playing baseball to rest his arm
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers MAKING CONTACT- Simi Valley's Brett Hale spends time working on his swing during Wednesday's practice session. The Pioneers' season begins today when they travel to play Burroughs High at 3 p.m.

Two years ago, Simi Valley junior Brett Hale decided to take a year off from playing baseball. The Pioneers sure are glad he decided to come back.

After sitting out a season to rest his arm from pitching, Hale decided to give baseball another shot last season and his decision made opposing Marmonte League pitchers cringe.

Hale hit .300 with eight RBI in his sophomore year. With last season's success, Hale now says he plans to play the rest of his career at Simi Valley and he's hoping to make a huge impact in 2007.

"I went to a couple games two years ago and watched from the stands and it just didn't feel right," Hale said. "It felt like I should have been out there playing. I'm hoping I can hit .500 this year. I know that goal seems high, but I guess I really like hitting."

Simi Valley head coach Matt LaBelle put Hale on the varsity team his first year after watching him during the first day of tryouts last year.

Brett Hale

"I just saw on the first day his pretty swing and the way he would go after fly balls and I just knew," LaBelle said. "He was going to be our center fielder."

This season, LaBelle plans to use Hale in the Pioneers' leadoff position, where according to LaBelle, he's already proving he belongs. In the first two scrimmage games for Simi Valley, the left-handed Hale has led off the game with opposite-field doubles.

"I want to try and get him as many at-bats as possible this year, so I've put him in the No. 1 spot," LaBelle said. "Last season he struck out three times during the first week and then didn't strike out again. He doesn't walk nearly enough, but he does have a good understanding of the strike zone. He won't go fishing for bad balls, that's for sure."

Hale said being put on the varsity club his first year was a little strange since all of his teammates were so much older. Hale added that he really started to feel at home with the varsity team last year in a game against Royal on the road. During that game, Hale had three hits, including a double.

Aside from getting help from the seniors, Hale said some of the best advice came from LaBelle.

"He's been a great coach," Hale said. "He told me to always hustle and never give up. With my hitting, he has told me to wait longer on pitches and not pull the pitches thrown on the outside of the plate. I think that's helped me a lot."

LaBelle described Hale as a hitter who can hit for power and average.

"He hit some balls that would have been home runs if they hadn't hit the fence on the fly," LaBelle said. "He is one guy who would've benefited with us not having a fence because he can run for days." Now in the leadoff spot, Hale is hoping he can use his speed to steal some bases. "During the offseason, I've been working a lot on my base stealing," Hale said. "I've been running a lot of sprints and running 45's and 60's."

Although LaBelle said Hale might be a year away from being considered one of the team's leaders, Hale knows the team is once again a young one and he does his best to help.

"We have more young guys on the team than last year," Hale said. "We have a lot of sophomores on the team, so I try to be more of a role model towards those guys this year."

For the Pioneers to make the playoffs, Hale said the team has to keep its never-say-die attitude.

"I think, in order to win, we can't quit in the middle of games," Hale said. "If we are losing we need to keep playing hard so we can come back and win."

You can see Hale in action today when Simi Valley begins its season on the road at Burroughs High. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.