During the Yakima Bears first homestand of the 2012 N.W.L. season, you may have missed a few ex-Big Leaguers in the stands.

Quinton McCracken, who had a stint with the Mariners in 2004, was on a scouting trip to watch how some of the Arizona Diamondbacks prospects were progressing here in Yakima.

Sitting behind home plate, next to McCracken, for much of the series though was a 13-year veteran of M.L.B. whom many in the valley will remember from his high school (Eisenhower) and American Legion (Beetles) days.

Some may have heard of him from the Brad Pitt flick “Moneyball.”

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Scott Hatteberg, prominently profiled in Michael Lewis’s book of the same name, is currently working as a special assistant for the Oakland Athletics and was in town to do some scouting of his own.

It was about a year ago that I wrote a piece regarding the film adaptation in which Scott was portrayed by another Washingtonian Chris Pratt.

The Yakima Herald-Republic’s Roger Underwood, who is the Yakima Bears beat writer, caught up with Hatte and asked if he is ever mistaken for Brad Pitt or Chris Pratt (who played Hatteberg in the film version).  He answered, “Not enough.”

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My wife would beg to differ.  She took my son down to the row where he was sitting to ask for a picture and an autograph.  Scott obliged and chatted up my boy who is a baseball savant and is aware of who Scott is.

Drew, my boy, came back grinning ear-to-ear with his new souvenir.  I was JEALOUS!

Knowing that “Hatty” was in the house for the series, I snagged my copy of the book and hoped to get a signature the following day.  I was lucky enough to get Scott’s undivided attention before the gates opened on Sunday an he couldn’t have been more gracious.

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My signed copy is definitely going on the mantle with some of my other more prized possesions in my collection!

 

Here is the actual footage of Hatteberg’s homerun celebration after he hit a walk-off home run that helped the A’s set the record for 20 consecutive wins in  2002.

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