Chris Hacopian is already getting a taste of what life looks like as a National, and the first few days have felt pretty surreal.
The 21-year-old second baseman, drafted by Washington with the No. 1 overall pick, has had his phone lighting up since the selection. Two messages stood out immediately: a social media follow from Danny Espinosa, one of his childhood favorites, and a direct message from Howie Kendrick, the hero of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series run, wishing him luck.
“I was a big fan of his,” Hacopian said. “To see that he’s showing support to me, it means a lot and there’s a lot of gratitude there for that.”
For Hacopian, a Montgomery County, Md., native who grew up about 30 minutes from Nationals Park, the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of firsts. He has signed with the club, taken part in Draft class camp at the Nationals’ training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., and returned to D.C. for a press conference, batting practice and Friday’s game with his family.
“I've had goals to be a professional baseball player for a long time, so this is everything that I've worked for, that my family's worked for,” Hacopian said. “… I have goals to not only be a professional baseball player, but to be a high-level Major League Baseball player. So the grind doesn't really stop at any point.”
Washington picked Hacopian 11th overall out of Texas A&M University. Before that, he started his college career at the University of Maryland and played high school ball at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, where he was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.
He said the idea of playing for the Nationals always carried extra meaning because he grew up as a fan. But once he got closer to the pro level, his focus shifted from where he might land to becoming the best player he could be.
“It was a dream [to play for the Nationals] because I was a huge fan,” said Hacopian. “But as I got closer to realizing I could become a pro, it wasn't so much like, ‘Where am I going to go?’
It was more like, ‘I want to be the best player possible.’ The fact that it is the Nationals, though, is really cool for myself and my family.”
Now, with his long-term goal of reaching the majors in his own backyard, Hacopian is settling into the organization and starting the work that comes with it.
“I'm excited to be in the organization now and to, honestly, just get to work with them,” Hacopian said. “I'm excited to go back to West Palm Beach for another week and take more swings, take more ground balls, and learn more from guys that are doing a really good job teaching the game.”
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