COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — Dan Hasty is wrapping up his final season as the play-by-play announcer for the West Michigan Whitecaps after 12 years with the team — a career he says grew out of a childhood love of baseball and the realization that his future in the sport would not be on the field.
"When I was young, I wanted to be a baseball player," Hasty said.
That dream faded in his high school career; during a bullpen session, a coach asked Hasty if he had been throwing changeups.
"I said, No, that was my fastball. So I realized at that moment that it might be time to look for a different pathway," Hasty said.
Even though playing on the diamond was out of sight, his love of the game never left him, though. He found another way to stay close to it.
"I knew I loved baseball, and according to many, I talked way too much. So I thought I could combine those two skill sets into a career," Hasty said.
Hasty began his broadcasting career while attending Central Michigan University, where he called games featuring players who would go on to long careers in the major leagues. Among them were Carlos Santana and Kenley Jansen, who is currently pitching for the Detroit Tigers.
"The pitcher he (Kenley Jansen) was catching that night was a young man from Texas by the name of Clayton Kershaw. So now, and now he's getting close to becoming a Cooperstown Hall of Fame inductee," Hasty said.
After graduating, Hasty worked his way through various broadcasting roles, including hosting pregame shows for major Detroit sports teams. But his goal was always to do play-by-play in West Michigan.
In 2015, he learned there was an opening with the Whitecaps and called the team's vice president and general manager.
"I'll never forget his response. He said, I was going to call you later this week," Hasty said.
He called it the turning point in his career.
"I really do consider that kind of like my big break in play-by-play," Hasty said.
His inaugural season with the Whitecaps started in triumph, with the team going on to win the Midwest League Championship.
"I remember in 2015 we were a solid team. We were a good team, not a great team, but we got hot at the right time," Hasty said. "We went to the playoffs and we were as hot as any team was in all of Minor League Baseball, and we beat a bunch of teams with a lot of future Major League players and won a Midwest League Championship."
Along with another championship season in 2025, Hasty says one of the top highlights of his tenure was the chance to call a major league game for the Detroit Tigers, the team he grew up watching.
"I was called in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at 1:00 on a Friday asking if I could get to Minneapolis by 7:00 that same day," Hasty said. "We went full Planes, Trains and Automobiles in order to make it. And I will never forget having made it and walking into the broadcast booth as the national anthem was playing."
WATCH: DAN HASTY TALKS HIS FINAL SEASON WITH WHITECAPS
As his final season winds down, Hasty reflected on his time with the Whitecaps and said it is the fans of the team that he will remember the most.
"The people who bring us into their living rooms, the people who bring us into their cars, their kitchens, more importantly, share us with the rest of their family. I mean, that's the connection point that I grew up with," Hasty said.
He said that connection is what he will carry with him.
"Every time you can have a moment with somebody, do yourself a favor and have that moment. And that's what has made this so special," Hasty said.
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