Oak Mountain's Dahl returning to play

It is Orem, Utah and it is Giveaway Day at Brent Brown Ballpark. There is a lone heckler in the outfield whose been giving him fits across nine innings. He’s 1 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts and a sac fly. It’s 9:37 p.m. and the stadium lights are blurred through his sweat-stung eyes. After a 3-2 win, he jogs in to the damp infield grass and shake hands with the full roster of the Orem Owlz, an L.A. Angels affiliate.

He retires into the bowels of the stadium, showers, eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and packs his stuff. The coaches assemble for a meeting, and everyone loads the bus. It is 12:19 a.m. when the bus coughs out of the parking lot. His sleep is fitful through the dark night of eastern Utah.

He arrives in Grand Junction, Colo. at 4:04 a.m. He groggily tosses his equipment into his unadorned locker, drives to his host family’s house and crawls in bed.

He wakes at 3 p.m. He has a home game tonight against the Idaho Falls Chukars, and tonight is not the time to have another two-strikeout night.

Such is the life of Oak Mountain’s David Dahl.

He’s like many other hopefuls scattered throughout America, lacing up his cleats in small stadiums that have a penchant for crushing dreams. David’s life has led him to this bittersweet abyss — the world of the minor leagues — where paltry salaries, overlong bus rides, and ballpark franks are the orders of the day.

Dahl played high school ball at Oak Mountain and was drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies’ newest centerfield prospect was shipped to Grand Junction, Colorado in June of that year to the Pioneer League, an 8-team “Rookie League” in the sprawling, high-aired Northwest.

“Playing in Grand Junction was great,” Dahl said. “The state of Colorado is awesome, and Grand Junction was an amazing city.” In front of 12,000 fans and a mascot named Corky Coyote, Dahl was a terror at the plate, batting .379 with nine home runs and 57 RBIs.

Plate production in Grand Junction meant next-season advancement for Dahl, this time to single-A Asheville, N.C. to play with the Tourists. But Dahl’s time in Asheville didn’t consist of clouting more home runs and touring the Biltmore. On May 7, 2013 Dahl tore his hamstring and spent the next five months rehabbing — lifting weights, running and doing extensive physical therapy — in order to wedge himself back into the lineup.

Now Dahl, 19, is spending his off-season days at a sports performance clinic in San Jose, Calif., wondering when he’ll get another chance. He’s working out twice a day, getting stronger and he’s back on the field. He says he’s not thinking about the bright lights of Coors Field, or — worse — not making it at all.

“I don’t even think about it. If you do, you’ll drive yourself crazy,” Dahl said. “The thing that’s so difficult about minor league ball is that it’s just a grind. You’ve got to take it one day at a time.”

Dahl has sent the boats home, so to speak, because he has “no clue” what might happen if this baseball thing doesn’t pan out. He’s not even sure he’ll be invited back to Asheville.

“This last year was a very humbling experience for me. I realize that I’ve got a lot of work to do both on and off the field,” he said.

The embattled outfielder drew the ire of the Rockies’ front office when he missed a flight and got sent back to extended spring training. Some pundits began to question his maturity, and said so unmercifully in blogs and other Internet outlets.

But Dahl believes that the experience helped him develop a much clearer focus and get back to his Christian roots. Dahl was raised by loving parents in a Christian home in Montgomery, he said. He credits his father for encouraging him to play baseball.

“My dad pushed me hard but knew how to encourage,” he said.

At age 9, Dahl’s All-Star team won the Little League World Series, and by 12 Dahl knew he was onto something with baseball.

“I knew I was pretty good when I was 12,” he said. “I was playing travel ball, and I hit 33 home runs that summer.”

The family lived in Montgomery until moving to Oak Mountain during his ninth grade year, where the transfer made an immediate impact for the Eagles.

“I started as a freshman in high school. That year, I played short and batted third,” Dahl said.

During that time, Dahl began to raise eyebrows at college and pro showcases.

“I worked out in Denver, and I realized I wanted the Rockies to draft me,” Dahl said. 

So today, a year-and-a-half later, Dahl is still with the Rockies, fine-tuning his inside as much as he is his outside. He says he received profound wisdom from his mother in the midst of this mile-high ordeal.

“My mom told me to concentrate on getting closer to God and trying to be a better person,” he said. 

He now prays in the on-deck circle and gives thanks for the opportunity to play baseball, a game that he has played since he was two years old. He says he wants to be a great person and an example for kids.

“I have a tattoo of a Bible verse on my arm, Joshua 1:9, which says ‘Be Strong and Courageous.’ Honestly, I think it was good for me to go the things I’ve gone through at 19. I learned lessons from it, and I’m a better person, better player because of it,” he said. “And I’ve learned that if you have a good relationship with Christ, everything falls into place.”