ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brad Hawpe has a head too small and a heart three sizes too big.
He is the Rockies’ best player this season, primed for his first all-star berth, but you’d never know it. That’s because all he cares about is winning and helping teammates. He’s weird like that.
“When it all comes down to it, you want a guy who has your back and shows up ready to play,” said Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, Hawpe’s role model. “Brad always does that.”
Talk to Hawpe for a while, and you wonder if the interview should be aired in black and white. With a projector. Hawpe is simple in his life, old school in his values.
Heck, he is 30, pulling down a $5.5 million salary this season, hitting a ridiculous .397 with runners in scoring position, and he still drives the Ford F-250 he bought his rookie year when he was making $300,000.
“I am not a guy that changes much,” the right fielder said. “My wife gives me a hard time about it. If I find something I like, I stick with it.”
Hawpe remains the same person, but he has undergone a quiet transformation in the clubhouse and in the batter’s box. He ranks in the National League’s top five in average, RBIs and slugging percentage.
When Hawpe joined the Rockies in 2004, his minor-league home runs were the stuff of legend, painting him as a purple-clad Paul Bunyan.
Yet, he showed respect to veterans, not only listening to them, but learning. Former catcher Todd Greene became a lighthouse for Hawpe, their conversations helping shape the leader he has become. Greene talked about Hawpe like a proud father.
“He gets it,” Greene said. “He does things the right way.”
Ask manager Jim Tracy who his players should emulate, and the answer never changes: “All they have to do is watch our first baseman and right fielder.”
What Hawpe gleaned from Greene is how to help without being condescending. He’s constantly talking with young outfielders Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez and Seth Smith.
“When guys first come up, you have to tell them things that sometimes they don’t want to hear. But you do it with respect,” Hawpe said. “They understand that you care, that you just want them to get better.”
Hawpe’s tips vary. With Fowler, he has talked with him about his left-handed swing. Hawpe helps position Gonzalez defensively, particularly since he knows the hitters better than anyone else in the outfield. And Hawpe constantly encourages Smith.
“He makes us feel like we are a huge part of the team,” Fowler said. “Some guys might just make you feel like you are lucky to be here. Not him. He brings out the best in you.”
Added Gonzalez, “It’s really a mentality that he instills. He gives you confidence.”
Helping out players
Hawpe has a bit of Ned Flanders in him, an eternal optimist, “the guy,” Clint Barmes said, “who is always there to pick you up.” Hawpe looks at the young kids flanking him and doesn’t see a threat to his job, but rather reasons to stay in Colorado for years to come.
“These guys all have so much more talent than I did at the same point in my career,” Hawpe said. “I remind them all the time to just do what they can each day to help the team. That’s all that matters.”
Early in his career, doubt infected Hawpe’s mind. There was always something wrong, it seemed.
“When I was younger, I used to worry about everything from my hitting to my defense to what’s going on with trades to how much service time I had,” he said. “Eventually, I just started focusing on the game. That’s when I became a better player.”
Once destined to be a platoon player, Hawpe now shreds left-handers. He hit them at a .220 clip through 2007 and has batted .291 since.
Hawpe’s hitting chart slanted heavily to the right. It annoyed him so much, he changed his approach.
Now, it has been months since teams have employed the shift — with the third baseman at shortstop and three infielders between first and second base.
“He’s hitting the ball the other way with consistency. He’s fighting off tough pitches. That slider that he used to strike out on, he lays off it,” Helton explained. “You have to respect him line to line.”
Anybody who has ever gripped the seams or has a password for a fantasy baseball league knows Hawpe should be an all-star. After Saturday’s win, in which he hit career homer No. 100, he is hitting .336 (tied for third in the NL) with 55 RBIs (fifth) and a .609 slugging percentage (third).
“But it’s what he’s done with guys on base that really sticks out,” said former teammate Matt Holliday, who is playing against Hawpe this weekend after years alongside him in the Rockies’ outfield.
Cool under fire
It’s under pressure, with the game hanging in the balance, that Hawpe performs with confidence that creates goose bumps. He’s batting .397 with runners in scoring position with four home runs and 41 RBIs, his average second only to Florida’s Hanley Ramirez.
Hawpe has been clutch since 2007, leading the league in two-out RBIs. This success came from astute observation.
“I began focusing on hitting the ball up the middle, realizing that you don’t even have to hit hard to get hits and get runners home,” Hawpe said.
“And I noticed a few years ago how stressed-out pitchers are in those situations. They are out of their mind trying to make the perfect pitch. It relaxed me, made me realize that I was in control.”
It’s on this point that Hawpe’s story comes full circle. He was highly recruited in high school, but 17 of the colleges wanted him to pitch. He wanted to hit, so he enrolled at Navarro College. Toward the end of his freshman season, he asserted himself in a way that arguably changed the course of his life.
On the advice of his summer league coach from the Dallas Mustangs, Hawpe picked up the phone and called Louisiana State’s recruiting coordinator. They had sent him a form letter. He made it more personal, telling the Tigers to come watch him.
They had already signed Trey Hodges from Blinn College, who was facing Hawpe that weekend. What the heck, the LSU coach figured. He could get another look at Hodges and see this Hawpe kid.
Hawpe went 4-for-4 with three doubles. Later, he sat in the hotel room with practically half his junior-college team around when the phone rang. It was LSU.
“I talked to him for a minute, and he said, ‘You’re going to be a Tiger,’ ” said Hawpe, who helped LSU to the 2000 national title. “I hung up and said, ‘They are giving me a full ride. I will see you guys later.’
“I tell that story to kids all the time. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself and be confident in your ability. You never know what good things might happen.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Getting to know Hawpe
Brad Hawpe likes to keep life simple. He spent time with The Post’s Troy E. Renck last week discussing some things you might not know about him:
What do you drive?F-250, three-quarter-ton Ford King Ranch. I like the truck. It’s the same one I have had since my rookie season. I am an American guy. And if I buy something in this economy, it’s going to be an American car.
What song is most played on your iPod? “Rockstar” by Nickelback. It’s not my favorite song, but it’s my batter clip and my daughter (Avery) loves hearing it because it reminds her of seeing daddy at the baseball game.
What would you do if you weren’t a baseball player? I’d be sleeping in my own bed 12 months out of the year, which would be great. Probably something in finance. I can’t even write a sentence in cursive, but I can tell you the percentage of anything.
What is an off day like? I sleep in late, have a big breakfast at the house and just hang out with my wife and daughter in the backyard. I have learned to relax on off days.
What is your favorite hobby? Hunting. I don’t shoot stuff that often. But when you hunt, you always go with the people you like the most.
