By: Dolce Prieto
Staff Writer
Mira Costa alum Petey Halpin hit a homerun, as he was drafted 95 overall in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Major League Baseball is both popular in the United States and enjoyed by spectators across the globe. It is no secret that getting drafted to play professionally is a lot of hard work. Many people dream of playing professionally, but only 1 in 5 players make it to the MLB – and Petey Halpin is one of them.
Ever since Halpin can remember, he was playing baseball in the backyard with his older brother and friends. Little did he know that that innocent, fun game he played would get him drafted in the third round to the Cleveland Indians as a senior in high school. He always loved the game and never saw it as a competition or a way to boast about being the best. It was purely to do the thing he loved doing and to spend time doing it with his friends and family. Halpin transferred to Costa for his senior year from Saint Francis in Mountain View, CA. Halpin was committed to play college baseball at the University of Texas, Austin. In the midst of all of that, he was also a part of the Future Stars Series in the fall of 2019, and the High School All Star Game in the summer of 2019.
“It’s hard to say that you know if you’re ever going to go pro, because it’s always a shock and you never know really what happens until it happens,” Halpin said. “I think it was when I started getting professional scouts at my games and when they started coming to my house, that’s when I was like this is something that could actually happen, something that could become a reality.”
Due to COVID-19, a number of changes have been made to all levels of baseball. Since Halpin was just drafted, he was to enter the minor system of the Cleveland Indians. Due to COVID, Major League Baseball has suspended the minor league season, causing Halpin to not be able to play this minor league season. Halpin mentioned that he hasn’t played a game in three months, Halpin believes that the Cleveland Indians are doing a great job at keeping them involved, thanks to constant gym calls.
“The gym calls are explaining lifts and making personalized plans with the strength coaches,” Halpin said. “These plans keep us in constant playing shape for whenever we need to go.”
Due to the shorter 2020 MLB season, the league condensed the MLB draft from 40 rounds to just 5 rounds. Halpin was drafted on June 11, in the third round and 95th overall by the Cleveland Indians.
“It happened 20 minutes before the graduation walk so it was super hectic, so it was good to have that as a distraction just so that I wasn’t going crazy,” Halpin said. “Getting drafted was the same, you know that same feeling. I think it would be [the same feeling] coronavirus, pandemic or not. But it’s definitely different this year than it’s ever been.”
Transitioning from high school level play to MLB level play is a big jump that is very exciting, but can also be intimidating. It is one thing to play with people that are good, but it is another thing to play with people that are great and professionals.
“I’ve played with guys that are much better than me and I’ve played with guys that are much worse than me,” Halpin said. “When everyone is that good, it’s not like someone is crazy better or crazy worse, we all just compete with each other and make each other better and I’m just excited for that. Just work hard and don’t worry about anything else.”
Halpin says that his goals for the future are to play in the Major Leagues and to one day win a World Series. The Mira Costa community is very excited to see Halpin grow at the game even more and watch him as he starts this new chapter of his life. The Mustangs will all be cheering him on and wishing him the best of luck.
“I loved absolutely everything Costa did for me in my baseball career,” Halpin said. “From Coach Keith to Mr. Marx and everyone involved with making my senior year and my draft year the best it could’ve possibly been.”
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