Once he was cleared he returned to work with Scott Littlejohn at Flight School Training Center in Anderson.

By March, he was competing in the South Carolina High School Weightlifting State Championships. Joseph won a Class AAA title after squatting 475 pounds, bench pressing 320 and reaching 105 inches in the long jump.

“I really want to be a great teammate and a leader,” said Joseph, who will be essential to the Bears’ success against 1,700-yard rusher Roderick Talley and the Raiders.”

Read More

Dallas Frazier

T.L. Hanna

MVP

Track – Sprint

2011-2012

Well done, you deserved the success. Congratulations to you.

Flight School

Brian Brown

Sam Maxwell

Flight School

I congratulate you on your success and wish you the best in your future.

Flight School

Brooks was, like I said, the 4th round pick overall; Pitcher; had one heck of a senior year down there in South Carolina and like I said he was nice enough to join us today so thanks to Brooks.

How’s it going today, man?

Brooks Hall: Going good. It’s going good. Just got done playing golf today.

BR: Excellent. Probably a beautiful day for it down there.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Excellent. Well, yeah, like I said, I had sent you those questions so let’s get into those real quick and we’ll see where it takes us.

Hall: Okay. Alright.

BR: How did you feel, obviously you must have known you had some pro scouts at some of your games…

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: …you been on people’s radar screens, how did it feel when you actually got that call that you had been drafted by a professional baseball franchise?

Hall: It was, I mean, it was a good feeling. The first day went by in a flurry and I didn’t get picked then. So the next day, I mean, all my friends went down to the beach. I was down, I was actually on the beach when they called me. I was actually sittin’ on a beach when I got drafted.

BR: That’s great.

Hall: It was great.

BR: Just having the opportunity to relax, not having to worry about it, that’s probably definitely good.

Hall: Yeah, tell me about it. It was a little nerve-racking.

BR: I’ll bet. You just don’t know what your future’s going to hold there.

Hall: That’s right.

BR: Now did you expect to be drafted, I mean, in the fourth round? Did scouts kind of give you any indication of, you know, where…

Hall: Yeah, somewhere, yeah. First five rounds I thought. That’s what they were telling me. I just, I mean, I just knew that. Probably if I didn’t get hurt this year, it probably would’ve been a lot better, but I think my injury did something to it, a little bit but…

BR: And you recovered from that, or how’s that going?

Hall: Yeah, I recovered from that. It was nothing big. It was just like a little strain in my forearm. Just stuff like that happens.

BR: Oh, sure. Day-to-day baseball stuff.

Hall: Yeah, I came back one-hundred percent, so I was fine.

BR: Excellent. Excellent. Now, and I ask this question only because I just haven’t been able to find the information anywhere but have you signed a pro contract yet, or…?

Hall: No, not yet. I think it’ll be like in the next week, the next few weeks. It’s gonna have to be before the 17th. I mean, they said they’ll get it done. They’ll get it done it’s just the commissioner, the baseball commissioner’s, taking too long. I signed over slot money so it’ll just take them a while.

BR: So then your plan then is definitely to sign and begin your pro career and forego the commitment to South Carolina?

Hall: Yeah, I’ll be moving to Arizona after I sign. So I’ll be out… I’m not going to South Carolina, no sir.

BR: Excellent. That’s good news for Brewer fans, I’ll tell ya.

Cary Kostka: For sure.

BR: We could definitely use some quality arms in the system, no doubt about that.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Now, considering, obviously your accomplishments on the mound like you had a great senior season, you pitched that perfect game that we’ll get to in a second here… But I mean you do, I assume, see yourself, in your pro career, as a starting pitcher?

Hall: Yeah, as a pitcher. Yes, sir.

BR: Okay. Yeah, I noticed that you had also been listed as an infielder, I believe a third baseman, so I wasn’t sure, you know, exactly what the scouts were telling you but I assume getting picked that high that pitching was…

Hall: Yeah, I’ll be a pitcher. I had some teams looking at me as an infielder but I don’t think I would’ve been picked as high.

BR: Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking there too. Now, about then your pitches that you do throw… I had read that your fastball is clocked, routinely, over 90.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: How hard do you throw? What kind of pitches do you throw?

Hall: This year, I mean, this year I got up to 96. It was 96 this year.

BR: Okay.

Hall: I’d say a couple of games. I mean I’m usually like 92, 93 on the fastball there. I got a slider, a circle change and a curveball.

BR: Oh, so you throw four pitches?

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: Excellent. And just because I’ve never had the fortune of seeing you pitch in person, do those breaking pitches, do you throw them for strikes or are they more of the swing and miss strikeout pitches or what?

Hall: No, I throw them for strikes, yes, sir.

CK: If there was a major league pitcher that looked, that pitched, just like you…

Hall: Yes, sir?

CK: Who would that be?

Hall: Who would that be?

BR: Yeah. Who do you compare yourself to that’s currently in the game? Is there anybody out there that you think has your same kind of style? Same kind of pitch selection?

Hall: Uh…I don’t really know. I don’t really know that. I mean, not really, I guess. That’s a hard question.

BR: Yeah, obviously we kind of sprung that one on you there. But, we were just kind of curious if you had been told by anyone that “Hey, you remind me of…”. That type of thing.

Hall: No, I haven’t had anybody tell me anything like that. No, sir.

BR: Okay. Now did you have…who was your baseball hero growing up? I’m sure you had to have at least one.

Hall: Derek Jeter.

BR: Yeah?

Hall: Yeah, that’s my favorite player.

BR: Excellent. Yeah, he’s a very, obviously well-known and Hall of Fame, future Hall of Famer. So, not a bad choice at all. Personally, mine was Robin Yount but again, I’m a little bit older, so…

CK: They’re both shortstops.

BR: They were both shortstops.

Hall: I like Brooks Robinson too. That’s who I was named after, so…

BR: Oh! No kidding…

CK: Really?

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: That I wouldn’t have known. See, now I may as well ask it since it was brought up, “Brooks”, is that your middle name because I saw on the roster that…

Hall: Yup. That’s my middle name, yes sir.

BR: Okay. And that’s just, you choose to go by that then. That makes sense to me obviously with the baseball connection there.

Hall: Yeah. Yes, sir.

BR: But, alright then. So, then, like I said, like I alluded to before let’s just ask the question here: Throwing that perfect game, I mean obviously, yeah, it’s high school…yeah, it’s only seven innings…but I mean still that’s one heck of an accomplishment in anybody’s life so.

Hall: Yes, sir.

BR: What did that mean to you, what did that feel like, when you got that last out? How did you feel going through the game?

Hall: Well, that, I mean, that whole game, I mean I never thought about it until I never even thought about the perfect game that I was going to have one until like the last inning. Like and that last out it was nerve-racking. I mean I got the guy to 0-2 and then he grounded out to my shortstop and I was hoping he wouldn’t make an error.

BR: Yeah, you gotta rely on a lot of other people in a game like that.

Hall: Yeah, it’s tough in high school because the defense isn’t that good, so…

BR: Right.

Hall: But, I mean they played good defense so I mean they helped me out.

BR: Excellent well yeah, I mean, not everybody on your team is going to go on to pro ball, so…

Hall: Yes, sir. That’s true.

BR: Well, hopefully you’ve got a couple of those up your sleeve as you go through the system and when you debut in the major leagues.

Hall: I know.

BR: Cary, you got any other final questions?

Hall: Sir?

BR: I’m just asking my partner here if he’s got anything else to ask.

Hall: Oh, okay.

CK: No, not really.

BR: Okay. Well, Brooks, I’m going to keep your number here in my phone, definitely and as you work your way up through the system it’d be great if we could touch base with you again down the road.

Hall: Yeah. Yeah, just call me.

BR: Absolutely. And when you, if you, once you sign your contract if they bring you to Milwaukee you know, feel free to give me a shout and I can definitely give you and your folks a little view of the city if the team doesn’t set something like that up. I’d be glad to do that.

Hall: Alright, thank you, man. Thank you.

BR: Alright, well thank you for taking the time and hopefully we’ll see you in a Brewer uniform sooner than later, man.

Hall: Hopefully.

BR: Alright, take care of yourself.

Hall: You too.

By:Big Rygg