NEW ORLEANS, La. – Tulane’s Hudson Haskin was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 39th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Friday, Haskin talked with Baltimore Orioles and New Orleans media personnel about the selection.
“I grew up in New York City as a pretty big Yankees fan, a baseball fan in general, but the Orioles were always on TV and that was right when they had Adam Jones, Ryan Roberts, and (Matt) Wieters. I can remember like it was yesterday, watching all of those games and they were such an exciting team. So to have the opportunity to potentially join that organization and continue that legacy is something that I’m really looking forward too,” says Haskin.
Through 17 games in 2020, Haskin batted .333 with 22 hits, including a team-leading six doubles. He tallied 14 RBI and 18 runs scored while drawing 14 walks, slugging .500 and posting a .452 on-base percentage. The New York, N.Y., native compiled seven multi-hit games, while ranking third on the Tulane roster in hits, runs, RBI and total bases.
That’s according to a press release from Tulane Athletics.
Haskin says there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding his draft status after COVID-19 suddenly canceled Tulane’s season.
He says the cancellation gave him new perspective on both baseball, and life.
“For me, the biggest thing I took away from it is just how fragile life is, baseball specifically. It’s such a blessing to be able to play at a high level and go to a great school like Tulane. It’s easy to tale that for granted sometimes and you know this situation just really put into perspective that it can be gone in a second. As far as the draft goes, I felt like, for me even though it was difficult to not think about it all the time, just because it is such a significant point in your life. I felt like I left everything that I could on the field and everything was out of my control. It was up to the teams if they wanted to take me, I felt like I did everything I could and I was really happy where I ended up.”
Now, Hudson Haskin faces one of the more difficult decision of his young Tulane baseball career.
Reporter: “Do you see yourself signing and being an Oriole in the next couple of months?”
Haskin responded, “Gotta sit down and talk with my family about it, but I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to get going. This is something I have wanted to do ever since I was a kid. The opportunity to be a part of an organization like the Orioles is something I value and cherish. If everything works out, I am looking forward to getting started.”
