If someone wanted to have a little fun while watching the Douglas baseball team battle for a win late in the game this season, all it took was a glance toward the dugout.
As though the game itself weren't entertainment enough (and with seven games decided by two or less runs and eight decided in the final two innings, there were plenty of close ones for the Tigers this year), senior catcher Jordan Hadlock's late game juggling routine provided the rest.
He'd be waiting his turn in the batting order with his catching shin guards on, waiting to see whether or not he'd have to peel them off to step in at the plate.
If the game were close enough, he'd have to hustle down to the bullpen to get warmed up in case he'd need to make an appearance on the mound as the team's closer.
The whole while, he'd be peaking over the bullpen fence to see if he was due at the plate. If indeed he was, he'd run back to the dugout, grab a bat and start warming up, again.
If while on the field a Douglas pitcher got in trouble, Hadlock would again run to the dugout, stumble through a dance with centerfielder Beau Davis while they traded the catching gear and run to the mound to take his warm-up throws.
It was no wonder at the end of the season that the Sierra League coaches named Hadlock the Sierra League Player of the Year. He is the fourth player during coach John Glover's six-year tenure at Douglas to win the award.
The guy simply did a little bit of everything.
He led the team, and the league, in most offensive categories, finishing with 11 doubles, nine home runs and 35 RBIs. He was so established as a catcher by his senior year that few teams even attempted to steal a base on him this season.
And as a pitcher, he struck out 33 in 19 appearances on the mound during his career while putting up a 4-2 record with three saves.
"I just went into this year trying to be a solid all-around player," Hadlock said. "I wanted to work on everything. If I had a series where I hit fairly well, I wanted to focus the next series on my catching.
"I think the key was trying to not over-think everything and just focusing on getting better every game."
Hadlock was the centerpiece of a young team chock-full of talent and he felt the best way to fill that role was to help every other player on the team fill that role as well.
"We started out a little shaky, we weren't used to each other yet," Hadlock said. "We could see the potential and the talent. We shook things up after the first couple of weeks and things started rolling for us. I was just glad to be a part of it.
"I'd known a lot of these guys for a while and I knew what they could do. They just hadn't played at this level yet. So I just showed them the things I picked up from other seniors before me and I think everyone was a leader in their own way by the end of the year."
Hadlock made his debut with the Tigers as a freshman, playing second base every third game when eventual 2005 Player of the Year Chad Walling would take the mound to pitch.
"I remember going out there and facing (Wooster standout Jake) Rasner (now in minor league baseball)," Hadlock said. "He was throwing 92-plus and I was really wondering if I was ready for it. You get used to it though, then you finally feel like you're getting somewhere."
It would seem Hadlock's entire baseball career has been a story of getting called up a little early.
He was brought up a year early for the Majors division of Carson Valley Little League where he played for the Pirates.
"We were out there at tryouts and saw this little kid making some solid throws from short," Pirates coach Steve Morgan said. "We knew this kid could play, so we brought him up."
What followed was a frustrating process for Hadlock that eventually helped him make the transition in high school.
"In Little League, in T-ball and Double-AA I was just finding my spot as a starter and then I got pulled up at a younger age," Hadlock said. "I took my year of mostly sitting the bench, I'd come home and question if this was what I really wanted at that point.
"It occurred to me though, the following year, that everything I learned and everything I saw during that first year were things I could apply to my game and have some success."
So he took the same approach as a freshman on the 2005 league championship team.
"I really tried to make it about putting my time in and learning everything I could, because I knew those seniors had been there a couple year and they were really able to teach my a lot."
After getting his feet wet as a second baseman, he was thrust into the starting shortstop spot a week before his sophomore season started due to a departure from the roster.
While he made the transition defensively just fine, he was still getting used to his time at the plate.
"I was trying to hit the ball out every time I was up," said Hadlock. "It didn't work out too well. I'd swing at the wrong pitches and make poor contact."
That was something he planned to adjust heading into his junior year, but the coaching staff proposed the addition of an entirely new facet to his game.
"We all knew (two-time all-league catcher) Roman Davis was leaving and that someone would have to step up and take his spot," Hadlock said. "They asked me if I'd be interested, so I gave it a shot.
"Roman showed me a lot during summer ball. It was a fun transition. I'd never been there before, but coach Glover worked with me a lot over the winter, getting me mentally and physically ready for it."
Hadlock quickly established himself as one of the top defensive catchers in the area, earning first-team all-league honors his first season out. He also cleaned up his approach at the plate.
"I was just trying to hit the ball on a consistent basis," he said. "I didn't care what happened to it, as long as I was hitting. My focus was on trying to get on base instead of trying to hit the ball out."
His junior year was also his first season hitting in the leadoff spot. It was a role he relished. Instead of just viewing every at-bat as a chance to hit, he also started looking at it as a way to help the rest of the team.
"I started looking at it like if I can set the tone for the game, that's good," he said. "But also, if I can take a couple pitches and fight off a couple more, the guys on deck will be able to see what the pitcher has.
"I felt like I could take a strike and battle from there. I just wanted my teammates to see as many pitches as possible.
"I went about it trying to pick out what seemed to be a guy's weakest pitch, and hit that one. Look for their offspeed stuff if they aren't hitting their locations, or wait for a guy to leave a fastball up there. That worked this year.
"At two strikes, I just wanted to put the ball in play. I ended up with a lot of two-strike hits because of that."
And funny enough, once he tried to stop hitting the ball out, it started going out on a regular basis.
After one home run over his first two seasons, he finished his career with 15.
He'll be making that early leap again this summer, leaving for San Luis Obispo to play for the Blues, a semi-pro summer team affiliated with Cal Poly where he'll be playing his college ball on a Division I scholarship.
"I'm looking forward to developing into a college player with those guys," he said. "It'll be the same approach of trying to learn as much as I can. I'm looking forward to seeing the quality of the pitching down there and just continuing to get to play."
To get the scholarship though, Hadlock knew early on he'd have to make some sacrifices.
He started at point guard for the Tiger basketball team in 2006 but made the decision to focus on baseball only after the season. The next year Douglas advanced to the regional title game and this season the Tigers went on to state.
"Every game I went to, I was dressed up like an idiot with the rest of the guys cheering in the student section and I had those thoughts that I could have been out there on the floor," he said. "Looking at the big picture, I know I made the right choice. I got a college education out of baseball.
"I might have regretted not just playing baseball. It helped me get off to a better start each season because those extra 500 to 1,000 hacks you get in the offseason make a big difference. I may not be looking at a Division I scholarship if I'd continued both sports."
He wasn't the first in his family to get such a scholarship either. His older sister Taryn, who was a soccer standout for the Lady Tigers during their last state title run in 2001, played four years at the University of Nevada.
"I was in middle school at the time and sometimes people would kind of tease me and ask if I could match up to her," Hadlock said. "It sets a bit of a fire in you. It's a special thing to have two Division I athletes out of one small family.
"A lot of it came from our parents. They taught us a lot about being mentally tough, overcoming adversity. We just worked as hard as we could to get the best out of our size and ability."
That size (Hadlock stands at about 5 feet, 8 inches) is something that has come up since his transition to catcher.
"I went to the Area Code Games over the summer and I got some funny looks when I told people I was a catcher," Hadlock said. "I figure as long as I can do my talking with my play on the field, they can say anything and I'll let them see it for what it is."
Judging by his high school career, his play carries a pretty strong voice.
