Former Friends Select baseball coach and Yale University pitcher, Brook Hart, was signed by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 MLB draft.

While Hart was playing pickup basketball at University Park’s campus, his hometown, he received a call from the Colorado Rockies’ scouts. They asked if he was still interested in pursuing baseball past college, to which he confirmed. Fifteen minutes later, he got a call informing him he was drafted to the Colorado Rockies. A few days later, the same scout came to Hart’s house with a contract, and after signing he flew straight to Casper, Wyoming.

Hart described the Minors, or the MiLB – a baseball league right below the MLB where players/draft picks will play to get ready for the Majors – as “Groundhog’s Day” (everyday feeling the same) because he was playing a game he was passionate about alongside his friends.  Hart says, “I had a lot of good memories, but the most favorite are really the times with your teammates; on the bus, in the clubhouse, at the hotels or apartments just hanging out, messing around.” Hart treasured the bonding time even more than the games he played in.

Hart remained in the Minors for three years, but slowly developed shoulder pain leading to him getting released. As his shoulder pain progressed, the game became less enjoyable. He explains, “As a Yale graduate, I was beginning to see a lot of my friends make more money and become more established in their lives and they could do a lot of things that I couldn’t simply because I didn’t have the money most often.” Nevertheless, he expressed his contentment with his career knowing that he gave it his all.

Even though he got drafted as a baseball player, Hart and his family believe he could have played professionally in football or basketball, “had he gone to a different college with a different offense and been given an uninterrupted opportunity, he likely would have made it to the NFL in some shape or form” mentioned Brady Hart, Brook’s brother. When Hart was looking for colleges, many NCAA Division I schools offered him their starting quarterback spots. He took Yale’s offer and played as the starting quarterback until transferring to baseball. 

Hart is now the pitching coach for Friends Select.