Missed It By That Much – The Drungo Hazewood Story

 

The runners were tense at the starting line. The 1960 Summer Olympics were about a year away, but there was still a lot at stake in this race. On the line were bragging rights and the opportunity to affect someone’s life forever; someone who would be a big part of their lives forever.

“Go!”

The children took off, arms and legs pumping.

Catherine Hazewood had just given birth to her ninth child, a baby boy. He didn’t have a name yet but that would soon change. Her children were racing to the hospital and the winner would have the honor of naming her son.

Catherine’s son Aubrey was the winner and decided to name his baby brother Drungo in honor of his friend’s last name.

TWO-SPORT STAR

Ask anyone in the Orioles organization who the top prospect was at the end of the 1970s and, despite the presence of future Hal-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr., the answer would probably be Drungo Hazewood.

Hazewood stood 6’3”, weighed 210 pounds and was a former first round draft choice. His decision to play baseball was a tough one since he had also signed a letter of intent to play tailback at USC where he would have had a shot to take over for Heisman Trophy winner Charles White.  Playing football for John Robinson and baseball for Rod Dedeaux was tough to turn down. Not many people have a chance to win a National Championship in football AND baseball during their collegiate careers, but Drungo Hazewood did. He said no.

“In high school I was considered a better football player than a baseball player,” Hazewood said later. “But the money did it. Plus I always wanted to play in the major leagues and I didn’t know if that chance would come again.”

Entering 1980, his decision to go with baseball seemed to be paying off. Had he gone to USC, he would have earned a Rose Bowl ring by virtue of the Trojans 17-16 win over Ohio State. But six weeks after the Rose Bowl, Drungo Hazewood was in spring training with the Orioles. He hit just .231 at AA Charlotte in 1979. But the tools…

“(He’ll) be a big league player someday, of that I have no doubt,” said Jimmy Williams, his manager in Charlotte. “His main problem is that he still chases the curveball, but he’ll get over that. I think he has a chance to go the farthest (of all the Orioles prospects) and stay the longest.”

BIG SPRING

That assessment looked to be correct after his performance in the spring of 1980.  In twelve at-bats, Hazewood collected seven hits. Interestingly enough, all five of his outs came via strikeout. A performance like that, especially from a first round draft pick, could be enough to make a lot of teams. But the Orioles were the defending AL champs, and already had a veteran outfield, so manager Earl Weaver had the odd job of sending a .583 hitter back to the minor leagues.

“He was making the rest of us look bad with that average,” Weaver joked. With depth at the major league level and Hazewood’s lack of AAA experience, it was the right decision. A bit more seasoning in the minor leagues and he could come to Baltimore to stay.

THE SHOW BECKONS

Back in Charlotte, Hazewood teamed with Ripken to terrorize Southern League pitching staffs. Ripken hit .276 with 25 homers and 78 RBI, while Hazewood batted .261 with 28 homers and 80 RBI while adding 29 stolen bases.

The Charlotte O’s finished 72-72 but it wasn’t for lack of offense. They scored 605 runs, but unfortunately the pitching staff gave up 607 and they finished five games behind the Savannah Braves.

Hazewood had earned his shot. But the Orioles were in the middle of a pennant race and Weaver didn’t have the luxury of giving an inexperience 21 year-old outfielder a chance to get his feet wet on the major league level.

Drungo Hazewood made his major league debut as a pinch runner in the 9^th inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 19th, 1980. He would appear in three more games before getting his first at-bat.

It wasn’t until the Orioles were officially eliminated from the AL East division that Hazewood stepped to the plate in a major league game. In the bottom of the 11^th inning on October 4^th, Hazewood pinch hit for Mark Belanger and flew out to center field against Bob Owchinko in the first game of a double-header. In game two, he was the starting right fielder and faced Cleveland’s Rick Waits four times. He struck out all four times.  He would never appear in another major league game.

Drungo Hazewood was a can’t miss star. But then he missed. https://t.co/7flVKD6Qkk#Orioles pic.twitter.com/GbeluzhP8b

— J. Daniel (@JDaniel2033) September 6, 2016

CHARLOTTE’S FAVORITE SON

Hazewood returned to Charlotte in 1981 and continued to be a fan favorite. Stories abound about his power, his speed, his arm and his raw strength. In his 1997 autobiography, “The Only Way I Know,” Ripken tells a story of Drungo being so upset after a fight with the Memphis Chicks that he broke a bat with his bare hands.

“He … stopped in front of a display of two bats mounted on hooks on the wall. He grabbed one and snapped it like a toothpick. … Drungo didn’t snap this bat across anything, and he didn’t hit it against anything. He just twisted and snapped it like a toothpick.”

Hazewood retired after the 1983 season to care for his mother, who was battling breast cancer. He took a job driving a delivery truck and settled into life after baseball. There were rumors of his being disenchanted with the way things turned out, but those closest to him deny that was the case.

In 2011, Hazewood himself was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in July of 2013. He was just 53 years-old.