May 03--St. Rita senior Tyler Halas speaks of baseball as though it's his best friend. He cares more about this sport than just about anything else in life. A Tuesday make-up game under clear skies with a slight breeze and about 50 people in attendance is the high life.
"I've heard a lot of people say, 'Oh, baseball's boring.' They really should try playing," Halas said after helping the Mustangs fend off Loyola 7-2. "It's really one of the funnest games you can ever play, the greatest game that's ever been played. That goes down in history. I love the game."
The game's been kind to Halas. He's St. Rita's No. 1 pitcher, its starting second baseman, clean-up hitter and a soft-spoken senior leader. He leads the team in hits, home runs, RBIs, innings pitched and wins.
He's a large reason why the Mustangs are 25-1 and were named the nation's top-ranked team, according to MaxPreps.com, before losing to Providence on Saturday. Halas is aware he's just a piece in the Mustangs' perennial baseball machine -- "He doesn't have to hit five-run homers," coach Mike Zunica said -- but he's done as much as anyone to put St. Rita on the national map.
His 6-0 pitching record, .472 batting average and 29 RBIs make him the Tribune/WGN-9 Athlete of the Month for April.
Learning
Baseball, like fishing, can appear to be a series of brief action sequences followed by minutes of waiting for something to happen.
Look a little closer, and there's always something happening.
Halas lines up deep in the hole to the right of second base. There's a runner on first and a left-handed batter in the box.
"Tyler!" Zunica yells from the dugout and motions to the right. Halas, always open to critique, sees the cue and slides farther toward first. He hunches over, waiting for pitcher Matt Lenzen's slide-step delivery. He creeps forward three steps, pausing briefly as the ball crosses the plate.
Halas goes through the process every pitch. Always waiting. Always ready. He covers second on a pair of steal attempts, but no ball is hit his way the entire game.
That's the paradox of baseball: The same routines, day after day, can yield vastly different results.
It's one of the lessons Halas has learned since he first took the field as a 6-year-old. And he's still learning.
"He needs to stay within himself, not try to do too much," Zunica said. "It's a different guy every day on this team, and I think that should give him some real comfort to go out there and be Tyler Halas every day."
Halas was born and raised in West Chicago and makes the 75-minute commute to the South Side every day. Playing in the Catholic League Blue was a top priority for a kid with pro baseball aspirations and a pair of contacts in the game.
His family is close with San Diego Padres scout Willie Bosque, the former Wheaton Academy baseball coach who tutored Halas in his spare time.
"I'd always go over there, and (Bosque would) hit me ground balls, give me hitting lessons," Halas said. "He treats me like family, and we treat him like family."
Also on Team Halas is R.C. Lichtenstein, now the pitching coach for the Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Lichtenstein is a Chicago-area native who helped Halas develop as a pitcher from his earliest playing days and stays in touch whenever he's back in town.
Halas doesn't have overpowering speed but works the corners with his mid-80s fastball, change-up and curveball. He boasted a 1.50 ERA before allowing five runs Wednesday in a no-decision against Providence. He'll settle for 2.14.
"Every time I'm in the field when Tyler's on the mound, I feel comfortable," senior shortstop Marty Bechina said. "He's been great for us so far, and I expect nothing less from him."
At the plate, his right-handed swing barrels through the strike zone in time to pull most pitches to left field. On Tuesday, he walked in the first inning, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He later stretched two singles into doubles and was the only St. Rita player to reach base in every plate appearance.
He anchors a lineup in which every starter is batting at least .366 and is one of seven players with an on-base percentage over .500.
What's next?
Halas first visited Tennessee in seventh grade and immediately fell in love with the campus and the Volunteers' baseball program. He felt comfortable in Knoxville before he ever set foot on campus at St. Rita.
But for a player who's known his college of choice for years, his entire world could change in two months.
Halas, who is being scouted as an infielder, expects to be drafted sometime during the MLB first-year player draft in June. He's ranked in the top 500 nationally by Perfect Game. The MLB draft is much longer than that of any other American professional sport, so there's no guarantee of a big payday or a long career in professional baseball.
Halas said his goal is to be drafted in the first 10 rounds, which would give him a difficult decision to make. Signing bonuses can be in the millions for first-round players and reach six figures for 10th-rounders. But players drafted in the 35th round, for example, might not be offered much at all. Then he would likely go to Tennessee and try his draft luck in a few years.
"It all depends on what I get, signing bonuses and all that," Halas said. "If it's good enough, I would take it."
He said the Mets, Reds and Angels have taped his batting practice and watched games this season, and then there's his ties to the Padres and Rays organizations. He's also a fan of the Nationals and grew up rooting for the Cubs.
"I'm sure any organization that'll draft kids is going to be a good organization and treat them well," Halas said. "I'm hoping to get drafted, but if not Tennessee would be a good fit."
'Instant Replay'
Tyler Halas will be featured during a segment on WGN-9's "Instant Replay" Sunday at 9:40 p.m. If you miss it, watch the video at prepsplus.com.
Previous winners
March: Kathleen Doyle, Benet basketball
February: Rudy Yates, Sandburg wrestling
January: Nicole Ekhomu, Joliet Catholic basketball
December: Evan Boudreaux, Lake Forest basketball
November: Julian Love, Nazareth football
October: Kenneth Li, Hinsdale Central golf
September: Justin Hunniford, Providence football
