Ridge Hoopii-Haslam has played baseball in a variety of places, including his native Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas and Winnipeg.
He’s also played a variety of positions, including left field, third base and second base.
Now add shortstop to the list for the energetic, first-year Slammer.
“(Jeff) Isom called me and said, ‘Can you play shortstop for me every day,'” Hoopii-Haslam said of the Joliet manager. “I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I was a little rusty at the beginning, but it’s natural.”
The 23-year-old also has a little pop in his bat. He homered twice and raised his average to .277 in Wednesday’s 13-12 loss to Frontier League rival Traverse City at Silver Cross Field. The series finale is 10 a.m. Thursday.
Hoopii-Haslam spent the past two seasons in the American Association, first with the Texas AirHogs and last year with the Winnipeg Goldeyes, the 2016 league champions.
“I was the youngest guy in the league both years,” he said. “I was around guys who played Double-A, Triple-A, the big leagues. Being around those kind of guys, was such a blessing for me because I want to learn. Every day I want to learn. I want to get better. If I don’t listen to these guys and take what they’ve got to say, it’s not going to help me.
“Come to the field every day and work hard, put in the work. It’s going to pay off someday. If it doesn’t, you know you worked hard. This game doesn’t owe anybody anything. Play hard every day, that’s all you really can do. Fans see that, scouts see that.”
Last year, Hoopii-Haslam learned a lot when he lived with Winnipeg teammate Reggie Abercrombie, who played in the majors for the Marlins and Astros earlier in his career.
“He was my mentor,” Hoopii-Haslam said. “He told me, ‘Kid, you’ve got talent. Use it. You can hit the ball. Don’t ever let someone tell you you can’t hit the ball or can’t do something.'”
Joliet (2-3), the defending East Division champion, needed a shortstop after Alfredo Rodriguez moved on to the Atlantic League. Isom got an offseason call from Winnipeg manager Rick Forney, who didn’t have a spot this year for Hoopii-Haslam.
“He’s a scrappy type player. He’s got some power,” Isom said. “I knew he could play multiple positions. With all that combined, I figured it’s not a bad idea to bring him on. The scouting reports have been spot on.
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“Defensively, the loss of Alfredo Rodriguez was a big concern. I told Ridge to take ground balls at shortstop. ‘I don’t know who my shortstop is going to be. We’ll give you an opportunity to do that.’ He got himself ready to play short.”
Hoopii-Haslam has shown he’ll be ready to go, regardless of the circumstances. The Slammers played Tuesday night, followed by a 10 a.m. game Wednesday.
“We won a nail biter, which was awesome,” he said of Tuesday’s 9-8 win. “I was here at 7 o’clock (Wednesday) morning. Everybody said, ‘Why were you here so early?’ You have to put yourself in a position where you’re going to be successful.
“You’ve got to hustle. If you don’t want to hustle, you’re not going to hustle, just pack your stuff and leave.”
The 5-foot-8 Hoopii-Haslam has been told by scouts he’s too small, but that won’t deter him from pursuing the next step in baseball.
“I never played affiliated,” he said. “I really have a chip on my shoulder, to just keep hustling. Hopefully, one day somebody sees it.”
Tim Tierney is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.