Hainley Statia is not an unknown name in the baseball industry. The 35-year-old baseball player is a former minor league player and has gained meaningful experiences as a minor league coach in the Milwaukee Brewers organization and infield coordinator for the Los Angeles Angels. Even though he did not make it to the Majors, he has gained an impressive and extensive curriculum that deserves to be in the spotlight. In a two-hour interview he told us about his love for baseball, injuries that determined his future goals and also his role and impact in the national baseball team of Curaçao. Talking to Hainley makes you definitely realize that everything happening to you today has a purpose. As long as you can reflect on every moment, learn from it and appreciate it in hindsight, then every moment can allow you to grow into the person you are meant to become.
“At the age of four I started playing baseball. My father was the one who introduced me to baseball and then my grandfather took over and took me every day to the field and stayed at the field the entire practice. I grew up with him; he was my backbone. Every time I bring up my childhood memories, I remember him as being my biggest supporter” Hainley says at the beginning of the interview. As a strong and talented young baseball player, he received the opportunity to sign a contractat the age of 16. The only requisite was to firstly move to play in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic. Regardless of his young age, he already knew he wanted stability and opted to decline the offer. “Many baseball players face an awkward present and uncertain future. At that time, I did not want to jump into the uncertain. I wanted to sign and play professional ball, but I wanted my visa procedures to be arranged and play in the States. For this reason, I decided to move to the States to study” he explains. At the age of 17, Hainley started studying at Trinity Christian Academy in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was the first player out of Curaçao to go to the US to continue his study and play baseball. He stayed at a host family, that he still remembers with so much love and gratitude.
His baseball career started to bloom. After one year of playing high school baseball, Hainley was drafted in the ninth round by the Los Angeles Angels. He was the first player from Curaçao to get drafted out of high school. Hainley’s dream came true after he signed the contract and got the chance to start his professional career in the States. He was with the Angels organization between 2004 and 2010. Hainley was back and forth between the Single A, Double A and Triple A. In 2010 he elected free agency and was signed that same year by the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2006 Hainley also took part in the World Baseball Classic with the Netherlands and played most tournaments with them until 2015. In 2014 Hainley was asked to work as a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers but he felt like he was not ready for it and wanted to continue focusing on his career as a baseball player.
“Life as a Minor League played can be tough because most of the time you get paid the bare minimum, which can make the living situation difficult. You can either stay with a host family that is provided by the team itself or you can choose to get your own apartment and share rooms with other players. I remember being introduced to a host family and the house had cats and leftover hair all over the place and for me that was an immediate no” Hainley says laughing. He decided then to rent an apartment with other players and bought air mattresses in order for everyone to fit in the apartment. “Becoming part of the Netherlands National team also made it easier for me later on because I was fortunate enough to receive the A-status. This means that you get a salary by the Netherlands and with this extra financial support, it made the living situation easier during my time in the Minors.” Hainley continues.
“Through my career there were also a lot of unexpected events. I went through a lot of tough injuries. In 2008, I got a serious hamstring injury, which took me to rehabilitation for over a year. In 2010, I hurt my elbow and had to do Tommy John surgery and in 2011 I broke my ankle while sliding into second base during the last game of the season. These incidents were definitely obstacles for me to reach the Majors because most of these injuries happened right before I was supposed to join the Major League team. For example, when I injured my elbow, I was in Triple A, and the day after I got hurt, the shortstop at that time also got injured and I should have been the one to get the call to replace him on the Major League roster. Unfortunately, that was not the case. When I play baseball, I give it all on the field. I am passionate and I play rough. Being injured is inevitable and believe me, I went through a lot of injuries and pain!” Hainley tells.
Everything happens for a reason and becoming a MLB player was not written in the stars, unfortunately. But, every setback is a setup for comeback. “It was difficult to accept this reality, but honestly I am okay with it now. It must be weird saying this, but I actually feel protected. The lifestyle that I was living back then could have been a huge conflict for a possible career in MLB.” he explains.
After all the injuries and setbacks, Hainley realized that it was time to try out coaching, what he was offered a couple of times while he was still a player. During the 2015 season in the Brewers organization, he started his coaching career as a player-coach. In 2016, he decided to hang up the cleats and take coaching full time and was the hitting coach in the Brewers organization at the Rookie Level. On January 26, 2017, Hainley was introduced as the hitting coach for the Class A Minor League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. After a couple of seasons with the Brewers he can say that he found his dream job in 2018 as an infield coordinator for the Los Angeles Angels, which he is still doing till this day. “Being from a multicultural island as Curaçao has definitely opened so many doors for me. The fact that we can communicate in several languages has made my position as coordinator easier. Many players are originally from Latin countries; so, creating a relationship with them in their mother language only brings advantages for the team. I can also proudly say that working with shortstop Andrelton Simmons while he was with the Angles and communicating with him in our mother language Papiamentu was definitely something to be proud of” Hainley continues.
For 11 years Hainley Statia has been part of the national baseball team of the Netherlands. It was always his dream to give back and build a team for his island and teach the upcoming generation of local baseball players to be the best version of themselves. “Recently we have all noticed how the national soccer team conquered so many hearts in Curaçao and abroad. This inspired me to create the same feeling for baseball. Besides all responsibilities that I have in the States, it is important for me to give back to my home country and work as a manager for the team. I created a planning and time schedule that will benefit both tasks. Being a manager for the Curaçao baseball team is challenging. I started from scratch, working on discipline and perseverance. This is not a hobby, I want our team to grow and become successful. Coaching our local talents and also instructing the boys in LA have definitely made me grow as a person and as a professional. Nothing happens by chance. I did not become a MLB player like I wanted since a very young age, but I received interesting opportunities, that gave my life fulfilling turns. I am exactly at the place where I need to be. I am thankful.”
