Every baseball coach wants a 6-foot-something, 200-pound brute of a ball player with a cannon for an arm who can hit cleanup and strike fear in the opposition.
But those players are rare.
What every baseball coach realistically wants in this day and age -- and, more truly, needs -- is a Deven Hulse.
The Hillcrest junior may be average in stature (5-foot-8, 135 pounds), but he more than makes up for it with his heart and work ethic.
"You can look at him and see that he's not gifted with a lot of size but he has the desire to be as good as he possibly can and he doesn't let a day go to waste," Hillcrest coach Ryan Schaffitzel said.
"When everybody else is having a bad day, he's out there working hard and getting better."
But hard work will only get you so far. It's the immeasurable will -- or heart -- of a player that often sets them apart.
"The things he does are the things that people who don't know baseball real well just don't notice," Schaffitzel said. "He'll execute the hit-and-run, he'll get the bunt down and you may not even remember that what he did won the game.
"He does the things other players don't want to do ... I see no ego there."
Hulse admits he's not a power hitter, but a contact hitter, and you can see the confidence he has in his bat every time he's at the plate.
He's one of three Hillcrest pitchers fighting for the No. 2 spot in the starting rotation, however his best asset is probably his glove.
Hulse is the Hornets' starting second baseman, but can play any of the infield spots and is also the backup catcher.
Hulse defines an "unsung hero" on the field as a player who is "smart about every situation," someone who does key things like "taking an extra base on balls in the dirt but doesn't look for credit."
To St. Louis Cardinals fans, this description of a scrappy, undersized infielder with a big heart may sound familiar.
And it's not the first time Hulse has been compared to 2006 World Series MVP (and now Toronto Blue Jay) David Eckstein. He's just fine with the comparisons.
"I'm glad to be compared to a guy like that," Hulse said. "He's not going to hit walk-off home runs and he may not have the strongest arm in the league, but he's going to put you in a position to win a lot of games."
- Hornets embrace tradition, but aren't relying on it: This season the Hornets have adopted "Tradition isn't given, it's earned" as their motto, showing respect to those who laid the foundation of the program.
The baseball program's continued winning success at Hillcrest can arguably be traced through its bloodlines.
Schaffitzel went to Hillcrest (class of 1991), as did the fathers of five current players on the Hornets' roster: Ryan Buckner, Tanner and Logan Counts, Bart Lairmore and Hulse.
"The north side is almost like its own small town even though we're a part of Springfield. People come here and they stay here," Schaffitzel said.
Hillcrest's reputation no longer provides an added advantage like it once did according to Schaffitzel, citing better talent throughout the area.
"Other schools have definitely caught up," Schaffitzel said. "We can't just sit back and say, 'We're Hillcrest and we're supposed to win now.'
"There are times where we win games we're not supposed to, but there are fewer teams that are intimidated by coming over here like it used to be."
