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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Freshman shortstop Joe Spiers finally settled on baseball after trying his hand in basketball, roller hockey and track and field in high school.

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No ordinary Joe

Baseball is a year-round sport
for Hawaii shortstop Joe Spiers

JOE Spiers never took baseball seriously until the eighth grade. He wanted to explore other interests that included basketball and roller hockey.

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But just before entering high school, he realized baseball was his main attraction, although he did compete in the 100-yard dash and 4x400 relay as a sophomore in high school.

"I didn't go to all the meets because baseball took priority," said the freshman shortstop for the Hawaii Rainbows.

Taking baseball seriously meant playing for his father's (Mike) traveling team that operated in the fall and summer -- on either side of the prep season.

"We would play 100 to 150 games in the summer in tournaments all over the country. We played in California, Texas, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama and the last two summers at Joplin, Mo., with the USA Under-18 team," said Spiers. "We went to all the major tournaments."

The Moreno Valley, Calif., resident received a lot of media attention last spring when he hit safely in 46 consecutive games to break the California high school record. The streak started with the first game of his junior year. His last game without a hit before that came in the finale of his sophomore season and that halted a 12-game hitting streak.

He handled the media attention with ease and felt relief when the streak ended. For Spiers it was more about the team and winning, although he understood he was expected to be one of those players who make a difference and he wanted to live up to that.

"I had spoken to the media before, but it wasn't as intense as my senior year when Fox Sports got involved. It really wasn't that different, but it sure seemed different when I saw it on TV," said Spiers.

The streak ended midway through his senior year, when he hit the ball to third three consecutive times.

"He made the plays. The last one was a line drive and he dove to his right and caught it," said Spiers.

He started his Rainbow career by hitting in 11 consecutive games before being shut out last Sunday.

"I wouldn't put money on me getting a hit every game. My main thing is to just get on base," said Spiers. "Ever since I knew I could run -- my dad is a big base-running guy -- it has been a major part of my game. Being smart on the bases and having some speed can be really effective."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Joe Spiers was recruited by Texas, Miami, Washington State and Arizona State in addition to Hawaii.

"I have a good friend, Greg Burns, and we decided to commit early because we knew as 1-2 (in the lineup) we would be really effective. We also were in contact with James Parr and we wanted to be part of a good class coming in," Spiers said.

Burns, an outfielder, and Parr, a pitcher, turned pro after being drafted.

Spiers and redshirt freshman Troy Hanzawa competed for the starting shortstop spot during fall and spring practice, with Spiers holding a slight edge offensively.

Spiers has been solid defensively and made several excellent plays against Pacific in the 13-inning loss Feb. 20. The play that really excited the crowd came in the 12th inning on a high bouncer over the mound by UOP speedster Jerin Harper. Spiers, poised with his right hand in the air behind the mound waiting for the ball to come down, bare-handed the ball and retired Harper on a bang-bang play at first to end the inning.

"You can't teach the things Joe does," said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso. "He has great instincts. He is fearless. That sums it up in a nutshell."