In 2001, when former Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe was still grinding his way through the lower minors, he decided to open a baseball facility called Cooperstown Cages in his hometown of Forth Worth, Texas.
“It’s an organization me and my friend started, back before there was a hitting facility and guru on every corner,” Hawpe said. “It was a way for me to spend all day long thinking about baseball and getting ready for the season. And while I was doing it, being able to help kids along the way.”
Now, the kids he’s helping are his own son, 10-year-old Drake, and Drake’s fellow teammates on the 11U Cooperstown Cobras, for which Hawpe is the head coach.