Healthy Hall embracing fresh start with Brewers

Adam Hall, a Lucas Secondary School grad, is back in the minor leagues, with a new organization — the Milwaukee Brewers — and back on the path to reaching his major league dreams.

Adam Hall in his first action with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. (Photo: Jacob Myers).

* * *

A few clouds dot the bright blue sky. A slight breeze blows from the first-base side of American Family Fields of Phoenix.

Adam Hall heads out for one of his first workouts, in the Arizona Complex League, since joining the Milwaukee Brewers. Surprisingly, he’s not too concerned about the heat so early in the day.

“Let me check … I think it’s actually cooler today,” said Hall. “Ya, it’s only 104 (40 Celsius).” 

And it’s only 10 a.m. But for Hall, the heat is secondary to the second chance he’s received to continue his dream of a career in the big leagues.

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When Hall tells you that he was born and raised in Hamilton, he’s not referring to the blue-collar steel city outside Toronto. This Hamilton has a population of less than 1,000 and is filled with pastel-coloured colonial buildings and high-end shops. It’s the picturesque capital city of Bermuda.

When you think of this British Commonwealth territory, your first thought is likely not baseball. And you’d be correct. Soccer and cricket rule the island, located about 1,000 km off the coast of North Carolina. In fact, cricket is so popular that it has become a two-day public holiday in August during what is called Cup Match.

So, then, how does the son of a Bermudian mother and Canadian father make baseball his passion?

“Baseball is definitely not the main sport there, that’s for sure,” said the 25-year-old, who graduated from London’s Lucas Secondary School. “But it’s a sport that I could easily practice on my own and head down to the diamond when no one was using it. That was really one of the main reasons I was drawn to it at a young age.”

Hall excelled at the game early. Leagues were few and far between on the island of 60,000, though, so his opportunities at high-level competition were limited. That soon changed. He never thought it would take him moving almost 2,000 km from home – as an 11-year-old – but that’s exactly what happened.

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In 2010, Hall and his parents, Helen and Tyler, made the trip to Canada to visit family in the Woodstock area around Christmastime. His parents wanted a day to do some Christmas shopping. Like any 11-year-old boy, Hall quickly passed. Instead, he was dropped off at a baseball day camp at Centrefield Sports in London.

Hall loved that he could be indoors playing baseball as the snow blanketed the streets outside. And his talents quickly caught the eyes of the coaches, including former major leaguer Adam Stern.

“I think (Centrefield Sports) were the ones who came back to my mom and dad and said, ‘You have to make a decision soon,’” recalls Hall, who never thought the decision would mean him moving to London – and on his own. His parents were still both teachers in Bermuda.

But after much discussion, he did make the move. Originally staying with then-London Badgers coach Ken Frohwerk, who had a son around the same age, Hall started Grade 7 at a new school, in a new city, in a new country.

It sounds daunting for someone so young. But not for Hall.

“I left the hesitation for my parents because I was pretty fired up to go play baseball somewhere,” he laughed. “It was exactly what I wanted. I was used to playing in Bermuda, and being such a smaller population, there was not much competition.”

The youngster began playing with the Badgers before heading to the Great Lake Canadians (GLC) program, where he excelled for the next five years.

As a 14-year-old, Hall was the starting shortstop on the GLC 18U team, and just a year later, at 15, he verbally committed to play baseball at Texas A&M University, a major Division I school in the U.S.

“Getting a scholarship was more so the goal to start with,” he said, “and whatever else would come of it would come of it. I just wanted to see where things could go.”

With the initial goal met, Hall kept going. He’d pad his resume with a three-year stint with the Canadian Junior team, which took him to fields around the United States, as well as the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Japan, to showcase his talents.

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But there was even more. And in June 2017, approaching the MLB Draft, he was expected to be taken in the first or second round – an impressive feat for a Canadian.

He expected it to happen. Others knew it would happen. It would just be a matter of when – and by whom.

Spending the day with coaches, and his mom and dad, Hall, then 18, remembers it being a long day. A few hours in, with their second-round pick (60th overall), the Baltimore Orioles dialed Hall’s cell phone.

“The first two rounds take a long time, especially when you’re number 60,” he said. “There was a lot of back and forth. I had a number where I wanted (to be picked), and at one point I pretty much accepted that I was going to go to college (instead), which I was happy with. But then the Orioles called.

“There were hugs and congratulations from family and friends. It really didn’t hit me until I went to bed that night.”

Hall soon signed a deal with the Orioles, which included a $1.3M signing bonus. A few months later, he found himself in Sarasota, Florida, playing Rookie Ball for the Orioles’ Gulf Coast League squad. He was officially the first-ever Bermuda-born professional baseball player.

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Following a brief Rookie Ball stint, Hall spent the 2018 season with the Short Season Class-A Aberdeen Ironbirds. He batted .293 over 62 games and showed off his speed with 22 stolen bases.

The middle infielder moved up again for the 2019 season, playing A ball with the Delmarva Shorebirds. He saw his playing time increase again, and he batted .298 with five home runs and 45 RBIs. He delivered 31 extra-base hits and swiped 33 bases. Another promotion – to Double-A Bowie – was in the cards.

Then, 2020 came along.

“That was the worst timing possible for me,” said Hall, who, at 21 – and like the rest of the world – had no idea what Covid would bring. With the only consolation being that it was a setback that didn’t just affect him, it was a disappointment.

Then, he suffered a personal setback. Hall’s dad passed away that spring. He’d been battling multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood plasma, since 2013. Tyler Hall was just 53.

One wouldn’t blame Hall if he took it all as a sign to move on from baseball. But he thought the contrary.

“There really wasn’t a doubt for me at that point in not continuing with baseball,” he recalled. “It was my life at that point, and you just need to continue on and find some sort of normalcy.”

He knew he was never going to give up on the time that he and his dad had spent honing his skills growing up.

“When things are all over the place at that time, like they were, just trying your best to pull through is what you need to focus on,” he said. “You have to keep moving forward.”

* * *

And, so, he did. He began the 2021 season back in Aberdeen, now the Orioles’ High A affiliate, and he worked hard to get his game back to where it needed to be. But with the Orioles continuing to draft middle infielders, things began to get a little crowded.

Hall was afforded the opportunity to get some extra playing time in the outfield. He knew his speed would play out there, and he jumped at the opportunity.

“I was up for it,” he said. “There was some footwork and throwing to learn, but I was always the guy who liked to be out there shagging flies in batting practice, so I didn’t have much of an issue with the move.”

Hall entered 2022, his fifth season of pro ball, with a .285/.368/.379 career slash line, with 85 stolen bases. He was back in Double-A Bowie for most of the season, although he did see a brief two-game stint at Triple-A Norfolk, just a step away from the major leagues.

But then came the injuries.

Hall began having issues with his shoulder late in the 2022 season, and he opted for surgery that December. The plan was to rehab that offseason and be ready to go for 2023.

“It was very frustrating. I just wanted my shoulder to feel better,” said Hall, who took the setback in stride. “I’m not someone who needs extra motivation. I know what had to be done, so you just do it.”

But 2023 did not go well. In fact, with a pair of long stints on the injured list, it was a lost season. He was limited to just 11 games overall, and at the end of the year, the O’s chose not to renew his contract. Hall was 24 years old and now without a team.

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When you think of Winnipeg, you probably think cold, Blue Bombers football, and even more cold. But don’t tell that to Goldeyes fans, Winnipeg’s entry in the American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB), an independent league.

In 2020, the AAPB joined the MLB Partner Leagues, made up of 48 teams with no direct affiliation with individual MLB organizations, but who collaborate on promoting and showcasing top players to scouts.

Hall signed with the Goldeyes for the 2024 short season league and, to his surprise, his stint in ‘The Peg’ was even shorter than he expected. After hitting .526 in just six games, the Milwaukee Brewers came knocking. They offered Hall a minor league contract, and, all of a sudden, he was back in affiliated ball and on the right path to one day hopefully reaching the major leagues.

“I was in Winnipeg for about a month, but it was awesome,” Hall said. “I have nothing but great things to say about the organization and the team. They were a great group of guys.”

He also noted that ‘The Fish,’ as the team is called, managed to draw more fans than a lot of minor league parks he’s played in.

“I’m thankful for this new opportunity, since it’s not easy to get signed out of independent ball. It was a little bit more relief mixed with excitement to get the call this time around.”

* * *

Hall made the trip to Phoenix to meet up with the Brewers Arizona Complex League team earlier this month. He continued to work out daily on the field while waiting for his U.S. work visa. On June 12, it arrived – along with a ticket to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he would join the Shuckers, the Brewers’ Double-A team.

As a plus? The temperature in Biloxi the day he arrived was a bit cooler than the previous day – a mere 35 (95 Fahrenheit).

Hall is the first to tell you that the last few weeks have been hectic. Playing with Winnipeg, signing with the Brewers, arriving in Arizona, and then off to Mississippi.

Hall debuted for the Shuckers last Thursday, June 13. The next night happened to be ‘Shuck Cancer Night,’ with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. And the following day Hall went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. 

There’s a lot of hard work ahead of him, and he’ll be the first to tell you that. Hall knows there are no guarantees in life – let alone, baseball. But there is one thing he knows will never change.

“Baseball is fun to play,” he said. “It’s what I want to keep doing.”