Baseball bloodline

Photo by rocky ross

FATHER AND SON. Tim Hulett of the Rainiers learned the game from his dad, former major-leaguer, Tim Hulett, Sr.

Rainiers’ utility infielder Tim “Tug” Hulett has been around baseball all his life. His dad, Tim Sr., played 12 seasons for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals.

“I grew up in the game,” Hulett said. He called hanging out with dad and his friends a “surreal way to grow up,” and no one would dispute this definition when those friends included the likes of Cal Ripken, Jr. (Note: Tim Hulett, Sr. leads the list of players put in to replace Ripken during his consecutive games streak with 22 substitutions.) Even Hulett’s nickname is baseball-related. It was given to him by his mother, who was a big fan of major league relief pitcher Tug McGraw.

Hulett was 12 when his dad retired. His dad is now back in professional baseball. For the second year, he is managing the Spokane Indians, the Texas Rangers’ short-season team in the Northwest League. The younger Hulett said his father will sometimes use him for a guinea pig for his high- school or rookie ballplayers. “He’ll say ‘try this,’ and make suggestions for how I play. I try to soak in every ounce of wisdom he can give me.”

Hulett and his father are not the only baseball players in the family. One of his three brothers, Joe, played professionally in the Rangers’ organization for two years. He is now coaching at the high school level. His youngest brother, Jeff, was drafted earlier this month by the Houston Astros.

Hulett was born in Illinois, but he got used to moving a lot as the son of a ball player. He gives his mother all the credit for providing a nearly-normal life for him and his brothers. When he was 15, the family moved to Shreveport, La., a place he still calls home. One of the main reasons for the move was to enroll the boys in Evangel Christian Academy, a private school where they would get good educations along with allowing them to use sports as a platform to share their faith.

“It’s not a wimpy thing to have faith,” Hulett said. “This is a game of failure. To fail seven out of 10 times in baseball is okay, but not in basketball or real estate. My faith gives me confidence, an air of assuredness.”

Hulett shares his faith with his fans not just in the way he plays but also on his website, http://www.teamjam.org/Tug_Hulett.

Hulett was an all-around athlete in high school, playing soccer, basketball, football, baseball and golf. Growing up in Illinois, he also played recreational hockey.

“Everyone in Illinois has to play hockey,” he said.

After high school, it was on to Auburn University for three years, where Hulett majored in history and appeared in 176 of the 179 games played by the Tigers from 2002-04. In 2003, he led the Tigers in hitting (.373), hits (93), doubles (25), multi-hit games (32) and on-base percentage (.447) and was second in runs (52) while starting all 63 contests.

He was drafted by Texas in the 14th round of the 2004 draft and headed for the great Pacific Northwest, after having not done much traveling for several years. He played one year for the Indians, where he led the Northwest League in on-base percentage (.444), walks (68), and second base fielding percentage (.975). He was chosen as an NWL All Star.

The following year he spent the entire season with the Class A Clinton LumberKings in Iowa, where he played second, third, short and designated hitter. He ranked second on the team in runs (70). In 2006, he split the season between High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco (Texas). His combined batting average was .297. In his Double-A debut on July 13, he went 4-for-6 with three runs and an RBI.

Last year, Hulett spent the entire season with the Oklahoma RedHawks. He was third in the PCL in runs (95) and hit a personal best 11 home runs. On Dec. 12, he was traded to Seattle for Ben Broussard.

Hulett said being with the Rainiers feels like a good fit. And of course since he has traveled around so much he knew some of the teammates, which always makes coming to a new team easier. During his career he has played second, shortstop, third, center field and right field. For the Rainiers he has played mostly second and shortstop, the two positions he feels most comfortable in. His secret for helping the team win? It is simple – score more runs than the opponent! “I can do that either by putting them on or taking them away,” he added.

So far Hulett said the highlight of his professional career has been coming in every day and putting on a uniform. “I’ve made friendships for life,” he added. “Whenever I travel, I look at my address book to see who lives where I’m going so I can visit them. I know someone everywhere.”

After taking a few weeks off once the season is over, Hulett is ready to get back into his training regimen.

“Dad is there to help me with drills, when he can squeeze in some time between his high-school coaching commitments.”

When Hulett’s playing days are over, he can see himself coaching or possibly going into teaching.

“I have such a passion for the game. My brothers and I joke that we should all coach for the same team sometime.”

With dad working as the manager, no doubt.

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